Bikes to drones: AI-infused everything on show at Bengaluru Tech Summit

Bangalore Palace is a 19th-century royal palace located in Bengaluru. The expansive Palace Grounds around it have been known for hosting major music bands like The Rolling Stones and Metallica and provide the venue for large wedding ceremonies. But this week (November 29-December 1), thousands of people including senior business executives, investors, and civil servants thronged the place to participate and witness the cutting-edge technology products on display as part of the Bengaluru Tech Summit conducted there.

Amphibious drones for maritime inspection, devices that extract pure oxygen from water for patients in need, and self-balancing electric bikes were some of the top innovations on display. Other unique innovations included an anti-hair fall helmet with additional safety for neck and spinal cord injury, and smart devices that attract and kill mosquitoes, as well as avionics from startups that played a key role in the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) lunar mission Chandrayaan-3.

The array of solutions included hardware innovations integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), a technology where devices communicate with each other intelligently.

Homegrown electric vehicle startup iGowise Mobility showcased its self-balancing e-scooter. Its bikes are designed to bridge the gap between a car’s comfort and safety and a two-wheeler’s convenience and ease of parking. They include features like self-stabilisation at low speeds and intelligent auto-swivelling at high speeds for optimal stability and manoeuvrability.

“It consists of tilt technology due to which the vehicle won’t fall off,” said Suman Kurup, an official at iGowise. The bikes have been designed for consumers as well as businesses like e-commerce firms Amazon and Flipkart. Kurup said there is a boot space of about 300 litres, due to which delivery partners don’t have to carry heavy backpacks on their shoulders.

Farm Guard is an innovation by BG Enterprises focusing on agriculture. The device uses artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) to detect the presence of animals trying to destroy the crop and shoo them away using unique sound. “In our system, immediate notification alert and the image of the situation can be viewed from anywhere,” said Dharani Murugan, an official at BG Enterprises.

In the area of healthcare, AI Health Highway showcased AiSteth, a smart stethoscope. It helps to screen, detect and predict cardiovascular disorders using AI and machine learning integration. It then provides an instant digital report. The gadget comes with an app that has multiple features to empower doctors to auscultate and analyse accurately with ease. Manju DV, a company official, explained that most of the current screening tools are hospital-based whereas for the majority of patients, the first point of contact is a primary care or community clinic. The company is focused on making the screening of chronic diseases cost-effective at the primary care clinic.

Vandyam, a company, demonstrated its IoT-based products including devices that help to track the location and body temperature of animals remotely. This is important as the body temperature of animals changes correspondingly when they undergo disease, specific physiological stages, or there are changes in the external environment. “Measuring such data enables in-depth analysis of animal health,” said Shubham Lohar, an official at Vandyam. The firm is also building a Unique Identification Number (Aadhaar Card) type of database system for animals. This would help owners of livestock or pets engage with insurance companies for various claims.
 

There were also many student-driven innovations. Team HiveLink from St. Joseph Engineering College presented an AI-powered bee hive monitoring system. The aim is to offer real-time hive management capabilities to enhance productivity. For instance, it empowers beekeepers to monitor critical challenges such as swarming, pest infection, hive falls, and theft through an app. The system also monitors temperature, humidity, hive weight, and diurnal cycle. It then provides actionable insights for beekeepers remotely.

Venture capital investors who are witnessing an increase in AI-powered hardware innovations in the country said that they are getting more comfortable backing startups that are creating physical products to address some of the pressing problems impacting India and the world.

“I think investors are getting more comfortable funding the innovation when it comes to physical product building because no large economy gets built only on the back of a digital economy,” said Prashanth Prakash, founding partner of the global venture capital firm Accel Partners in India. “Once our startups build these technologies, we can take them to the Global North and work with the rest of the world,” said Prakash.

A geodesic dome type of structure, which has been considered a popular candidate as the framework needed for future space dwellers, was also set up at the Bengaluru Tech Summit. Besides housing the models of Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander and Pragyan rover, and ISRO rockets, there were also startup technologies on display that played a key role in the lunar mission.

One such firm is Ananth Technologies (ATL), which contributed to the launch vehicle (LVM3), in the realization of many of the avionics packages like on-board computers, navigation system, control electronics, telemetry, and power systems. Various interface packages, power switching modules, relay and balancing units, and others for the latest launch were also done by the firm. Many major satellite systems for the Chandrayaan-3 programme, including telemetry, telecommand, power management systems, and DC-DC converters for the mission, were realized by ATL.

Chandrayaan-3 successfully executed a soft landing on the moon on August 23, 2023, making India the fourth nation in the world to achieve a successful lunar landing. India also marked a milestone by becoming the first country to land near the South Pole, an area believed to harbour significant amounts of water ice. Experts suggest that if this ice is accessible, it could potentially be mined for rocket fuel and life support in future crewed missions.

The Bengaluru Tech Summit this year witnessed participants from 45 countries. The event featured 553 exhibitors and 258 startups across various fields. With a strong attendance of 8606 business professionals and 18,592 registered business visitors, the summit also recorded an impressive 50,000 Expo footfalls.

“We have ambitious plans to further enhance Karnataka's position as a global technology hub,” said Priyank Kharge, Minister for Information Technology and Biotechnology; Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Government of Karnataka, at the tech summit.