IISc team makes indigenous industrial-grade autopilot system for drones

With the exponential rise in drone usage across various sectors, particularly in military applications, the necessity for indigenous avionics systems becomes crucial. This would address the current heavy reliance on foreign technologies. As a step in that direction, the Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Laboratory (AIRL) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore has made a significant achievement in the field of unmanned aerial systems. The team at AIRL, led by Professor Suresh Sundaram, Associate Professor at the Department of Aerospace Engineering, has successfully developed an indigenous industrial-grade autopilot system for drones.

The team, comprising researchers Nishanth Rao and Varun CR from AIRL, envisions this achievement as the initial step towards the indigenisation of avionics systems for drones in India.

“This marks a crucial milestone in the development of indigenous drone technology,” said Suresh Sundaram, Associate Professor at the Department of Aerospace Engineering. “Our autopilot system, powered by Vega Microcontrollers, showcases the immense potential of homegrown solutions in the unmanned aerial systems domain,” he added.

This accomplishment has been made possible through the utilisation of Indian-made Vega Microcontrollers, developed by CDAC, as part of the Digital India RISC-V Program (DIR-V). The development of this autopilot system is a direct result of the collaborative efforts under the  SwaYaan-Capacity Building for human resource development in the Unmanned Aircraft System (Drone and related Technology) Programme, with generous support from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY). 

By leveraging Vega Microcontrollers, this development has the potential to significantly reduce the dependence on foreign microcontrollers in future drone avionics projects. IISc also said this is expected to reshape the landscape of drone technology in India and foster the growth of domestic expertise in avionics systems development.

“We are confident that this breakthrough will pave the way for further advancements in this field and contribute to the growth of the drone ecosystem in India,” said Sundaram.

UAV autopilot systems allow an unmanned aerial vehicle, such as a drone, to perform entire missions autonomously without the need for manual remote control. These missions may include cargo delivery, mapping, surveillance, and many other applications.

Drone Autopilots market size was valued at $660.13 million in 2021 and is projected to reach $1081.99 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 6.37 per cent from 2022 to 2030, according to a report by Analytics Market Research.