He may be 74, but age hasn’t dimmed hismaverick spirit. Kota Harinarayana, theman who shaped India’s dream of build-

ing its own Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), or Tejas,is busy working on realising one more dream.

Along with a bunch of former colleagues,researchers and young engineers, Harinarayanais building drones and other unmanned aerialvehicles that can be deployed in mission criticalactivities. Their use will range from aerial sur-veillance, terrain mapping and spraying of pes-ticides in fields to more ambitious tasks such astransporting live organs from the rooftop of onehospital to another.

General Aeronautics (GA), the companyHarinarayana co-founded a year-and-a-half ago,consists of a mostly young team with a solid leader-ship. Helming the project are: Anutosh Moitra, whohas 35 years’ experience working for Boeing, NASAand Tata; PK Choudhary, retired Air Commodorewho worked with Harinarayana on validating sys-tems of the LCA; and Abhishek Burman who has 15years’ experience as an aerodynamicist.

Based out of the entrepreneurship centre atthe Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru,where Harinarayana had studied many decadesago, GA is working on three concepts — a con-ventional quadcopter, hexacopter or octocopter,depending on their use and requirements. Thesecond is a hybrid vehicle, which can take off andland vertically while flying like a regular aircraft.His ultimate goal, however, is to build anunmanned helicopter which is capable of carryingpayloads of 40-50 kg.

As of now, GA has designed and developed fivedifferent drone models based on the first two con-cepts. The unmanned helicopter is still in thedesign stage, as trying to build even a prototyperequires a lot of capital, which the startup doesn’thave as yet.

“We have done some design work, but thesevehicles would cost around Rs 10-15 crore each tomake which a startup like us can’t afford. But weare looking for someone to fund us,” saysHarinarayana, who has the distinction of beingthe first Indian to get a PhD in aircraft design. Sofar, General Aeronautics has raised an undisclosedamount of seed funding from an overseas investor.It hopes to develop a revenue stream soon by sell-ing its drones as well as offering them to customersand partners it has identified.

The helicopter will be mostly indigenous asthe company plans to use either an electric engineor the wankel engines that have been jointly devel-oped by National Aerospace Laboratories andDefence Research and Development Organisation,and which are usually used for bigger unmannedaerial vehicles. “The whole idea is to make it asindigenous as possible. That way the costs will below,” says Harinarayana.

When he was programme director for the LCA,Harinarayana was a big proponent of usingindigenous components. In the course of building

India’s first fighter jet, he worked closely with 40laboratories, 25 academic institutions and almost300 companies. As a result, outside of the engine,almost 80 components of the aircraft weredesigned and developed locally.

This is one reason Harinarayana and his teamdecided to work out of the IISc, which they saywill help them collaborate with researchers atthe institute who are already working on affiliate

technologies.GA is targeting three different

sectors with its drones — defence,agriculture and medicine. Five drone

models have already been developed:two quadcopters — one tethered and

one untethered; one agricultural dronethat has the capacity to carry 15 litres of

liquid and can be used for precision sprayingof pesticides; and two winged drones that can

take off and land vertically.They can be used for medical emergencies

where drones can carry emergency medical sup-plies to an accident site in a remote location or evenin gridlocked city streets.

The requirements are different in the defencesector. The drones suitable in this field are thosethat can be assembled and deployed quickly, arerelatively noise free, and come equipped withinfrared and regular cameras. They should also beable to transmit video and data in real time.Moreover, the devices should be small, light and beable to navigate autonomously.

Some weeks ago, GA simulated a real-life recon-naissance mission with its drones when it partic-ipated in a technical evaluation done by theCentral Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the junglesof Naxal-infested Chhattisgarh. The quadcopter,

which is equipped with day and nightvision cameras, took part in multipleexercises that tested its ability to flyin the dark, its autonomous flyingcapabilities and so on. GA, along withtwo other drone manufacturing com-panies that participated in the tests,await further feedback from the CRPF.

“It was a great experience for ouryoung team. How does our vehicle

work in a real jungle? How does our software work?How do our communications work,” saysHarinarayana. “I think the CRPF is using somedrones, but they require many more. Rather thanimport them, the government is pushing them touse indigenous drones.”

A big challenge to developing drones in Indiais the lack of policy. GA jumped at the opportuni-ty of participating in the CRPF trials not just in thehope of winning an order, but also to validate andtest its systems in a real-world simulation. Thelack of a drone policy in India forces companieslike GA to conduct small trials on private landwhich is unsuitable for the complete validation ofdrone systems.

Harinarayana knows only too well that gettingpolicies drafted is an arduous task. Even so, he isconfident that the Directorate General of CivilAviation (DGCA) will come out with a policy in thisregard soon. The DGCA’s app-based permissionsystem to fly drones will be unlike any other in theworld, asserts Harinarayana, adding that the gov-ernment realises that it cannot be left behind inbuilding its own drone technologies.

The optimist that he is, Harinarayana believesthat the future of drones in India will ride on smalland medium enterprises, R&D labs and acade-mia. But someone has to hand-hold them all,someone with the capability to design and inte-grate all the various systems that are required tomake a fully functional aircraft.

As things stand, that someone is clearly noneother than Harinarayana.

T.E. NARASIMHAN

The Hyundai plant in Sriperumbudur insuburban Chennai doesn’t conform to the old-fashioned image of a factory with greasy floorsand deafening noise. Instead, it looks clean andwelcoming. The rows of brand new cars indicatethat the factory is working at full tilt. The plantchurns out one car every 30 seconds. And this isthanks not only to the men in blue coveralls whowork here. Toiling side by side with the humansare a bunch of yellow-hued robots that helpramp up the unit’s efficiency and productivity.

A few hundred kilometres away, Honda'stwo-wheeler plant near Narsapura in theoutskirts of Bengaluru also uses robots toimprove efficiencies. Indeed, most automakerswho have set up manufacturing plants in Indiaare resorting to automation to boost theirproductivity.

At Hyundai's Sriperumbudur factory, where580 robots are in use, the defect ratio hasdropped from five per cent to less than two. Thisplant is in the Top 5 in the Qualitivity charts(Quality + Productivity) amongst HyundaiMotor Group’s (HMG) 32 plants worldwide. It

was also HMG’s Number 1 performing overseasplant and the No 1 Safety Plant in 2017.

Says S Ganesh Mani, vice-president,production, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL),“Our strategy is to use automation to minimiseand eliminate dirty, dull and dangerous jobs andto improve overall efficiencies.”

Other auto manufacturers are also usingautomation in a big way. Sources say that MarutiSuzuki India Ltd now has one robot for almostevery four workers and that it has some 5,000robots at its Manesar and Gurgaon plants.

Earlier, welding guns used to be operatedmanually in the body shop of an automanufacturing unit. However, as weldingbecame more sophisticated and the guns gotheavier, manual operation became tougher.Robots are perfect for this function. They arealso employed to conduct quality checks on theengine of a car using the high-speed Visionsystem.

Currently, HMIL’s body shop is more than 95per cent automated and its paint shop is 65 percent automated. HMIL has been enhancingautomation levels year on year by migratingfrom third to fourth generation robots.

Honda’s new two-wheelermanufacturing unit nearBengaluru is fully automatedas well. For example, whereearlier humans picked upmaterial from one machineand fed it into another, thistask is now done via a robotichand, from end to end.Thanks to automation, theline that was earlier mannedby around 10 workers hasupped its productivity withjust three or four workers,reveals V Sridhar, group vicepresident and director,Honda Motorcycle & ScooterIndia Pvt Ltd (HMSI).

In fact, the productivity ofthis plant is 20 to 25 per centhigher than Honda’s first two-wheeler plant in India, whichis minimally automated.

The use of automation on the factory floor isno longer sporadic, though.

The world over, Industrie 4.0 — the latesttechnologies in automation and data sharing inmanufacturing — is redefining outdatedmanufacturing processes. And India is catchingup as well.

"We have many smart sensors installed in the

machine, which keep track of variousoperations,” says Sridhar.

For instance, a bearing conditionmonitoring robot will monitor the temperatureof the bearing, take the feedback to the controlpanel, and thus save the time taken to put themachine back into production. This results in afive to seven per cent increase in assetutilisation, Sridhar explains. HMSI has

introduced automation toforecast and pre-emptmachine breakdown at itsthird factory near Bengaluruand plans to extend it to itsother units soon.

In fact, the emergence ofCollaborative Robots(Cobots), which can workwith humans has hugelyextended the use of roboticson the shop floor. “In thepast only big automotivecompanies used robots. Butwith Cobots, it has becameaffordable for smallindustries and componentmanufacturers as well,” saysPradeep David, countryhead (India & Sri Lanka),Universal Robots, which is apioneer in Cobots.

Market intelligence firmIDC estimates that by 2020nearly two-thirds of all work in factories will be

done by Cobots.Would that make human workers

redundant? Not necessarily. Companies say thatthey are now upskilling employees to managerobots and troubleshoot online. The gains ofautomation are clearly too big to ignore andeventually society will have to find the besthuman-machine balance for optimisingmanufacturing processes.

Robots building your rideAutomobile manufacturing units in India are employingrobots to improve efficiency and productivity

An intriguingquestion is beingintensely debated inlabs, boardrooms andministerial gatheringsin many countries —should robots besoldiers? Shouldsoldiers be robots?

Rhetorical as itmay be, the fact is thatrobotic war systemsare moving beyondconcept to actualusage. Remotelymanaged drone

systems with weaponised capability have beenused for almost a decade now. The Obamaadministration would be remembered fortriggering the deployment of weaponised dronesin conflict zones. Other countries too have broughtremotely managed drones for attacks andassassinations.

This wave of killing machines are called lethalautonomous weapons systems (LAWs), or simplykiller robots. The military industry complexes invarious countries are eagerly working with labs todevelop LAWs that span a spectrum of capabilities.Drones are now capable of using artificialintelligence to choose their targets. So, thedecision of killing is moving from the humanmanaging the drone to an algorithm.

Drones were the beginning. Similar weaponsare being created and tested for ground assault.The US army already has remote-managedreconnaissance robots that can also beweaponised. These can sneak up to the target onground and shoot them while its operating soldieris safe at a distance. The level of autonomy is inthree categories broadly, depending on theconfiguration. The weapon can be remotely

operated, remotelymonitored butoperated only as anintervention; andfinally, a fullyautonomous land-based or flyingmachine.

The UnitedNations Conventionon Certain Weaponshas been holdingmeetings of expertsand governments toconsider a globaltreaty on LAWs. In the

last meeting in April, many countries called for aban on LAWs. But some others including the US,UK, Russia and Israel are focused on creating atreaty that establishes a framework for use ofLAWs.

For many countries a robotic soldier is the idealweapon. Attacking the enemy from a remote locationor some distance offers advantages of reduced bodycount. The political system that may push for war alsorecoils from the prospect of body bags.

Some developed countries are eagerly butquietly investing in LAWs. This is creating a newcategory within the armaments industry,w hich isgetting closer to new tech companies forcollaborative efforts. Boston Dynamics hasalready stunned the world with it dexterousautonomous robots that can do backflips and opendoors. It is just a matter of time before someonemounts a gun on it to sneak around battlefields.

However, some tech companies are facing adilemma now. Should they develop AI-basedsystems for weapons sector? There are reports thata few thousand Google employees have protestedthe company’s collaboration with the Departmentof Defence.

Such protests notwithstanding, the twoindustries are coming together to create the thirdbig shift in weaponry. After gunpowder and nuclearweapons, AI and autonomous killing machines willsoon decide the fate of armed conflict.

The question then is of framing rules thatgovern ethics, accountability and oversight ofindependent-minded robot soldiers.

Among emerging markets, China has investedin technologies that will enable it to build LAWs.China’s Anbot robo-cop which looks like Star Wars’R2D2, is not far from being weaponised. India’sCentre for Artificial Intelligence and Roboticsunder the Defence Research and DevelopmentOrganisation is experimenting with its ownrobotic soldiers. Most countries are keeping theirplans under cover but the direction and intentionis clear. After the deterrence achieved by nuclearweapons, robotic warfare will be easier to unleash.

KRANTI NATIONPRANJAL SHARMA

For manycountries, arobotic soldier isthe ideal weapon.Attacking theenemy from aremote locationor some distanceoffers advantagesof reduced bodycount

AUTO ZONE

Robotic soldiersmarch on

MHEALTH ANDTELEMEDICINE IN INDIAIndians living in rural regions spend up to 1.5 times more onhealth care than urban dwellers,primarilydue to a lackof accesswhich prevents earlydetectionof diseases.mHealth andTelemedicine could potentiallydisrupt the market by bridging thegap between rural and urbanhealth in India, which also makes ita great economic opportunity fortechnology companies and health care companies,and in many cases the lines between the two areblurring fast. This also opens the door for newtechnologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) to beused to augment the speed, scale and effectiveness of doctors and other health care professionals.

$800 millionsize of the mHealthmarket in India

9%amount of adoctor’s time savedusing mHealthtechnologies

76%patients in ruralareas can gainaccess to medicinein their own villages

105 millionadditionalpopulation thatwill gain access tohealth care ifdigital health caretechniques areadopted morebroadly

15-20%reduction in the cost of healthcare for a patient

mHealth in India in 2020

Too few proven business models

Changingpatient behaviour

Lack ofinformation

Application ofinappropriateregulations

Hurdles in adoption ofdigital healthcare

AI inhealthcare$6.6 billionGlobal health AImarket by 2021

50%reduction in thecost of treatmentusing AI

30-40%improvement inoutcomes oftreatment due toearly detectionand betteraccuracy ofdiagnosis

Source: IBM KalaariResearch Report 2018,PWC, Accenture, Frost& Sullivan

Hyundai's automated multi-model paint shop at Sriperumbudur can handle multiplecolours in the same line without the need for a setup change

ALGO RHYTHMS

The age of dronesKota Harinarayana, the man who helped build India’s LCA, is now developing a range of sophisticated drones,write Bibhu Ranjan Mishra & AlnoorPeermohamed

Kota Harinarayana’steam testing thefeatures of thequadcopter drone, amodel similar to theone that took part inthe CRPF trials, beforea demo flight

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PHOTO: SAGGERE RADHAKRISHNA

18 TECHNOLOGY 4.0 MUMBAI | THURSDAY, 17 MAY 2018 1>