IIT Hyderabad (IITH) has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to establish a ‘Transportation Research and Innovation Hub (TRI HUB), a Centre of Excellence at IIT Hyderabad to work on contemporary and cutting-edge technologies for National Highways (NH) in India.
The new methodologies to be studied at TRI HUB, including geosynthetics, reclaimed materials, glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP), rebars for bridges and pavements, and retrofitting strategies for ageing bridges, among other solutions, are expected to provide long-lasting and sustainable highway infrastructure for smart Indian Highways.
“This is one of the pioneering initiatives of NHAI to support state-of-the-art research in transportation through a Centre of Excellence,” Prof Kiran Kuchi, Dean (R&D), IITH, said.
According to the institute, the new hub, possibly the first of its kind in an IIT system, will complement the recently inaugurated test bed for the ‘Technology Innovation Hub for Autonomous Navigation and Data Acquisition Systems (TiHAN)’ at the institute in demonstrating innovative technologies.
Recently, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated the TiHAN Testbed for Autonomous Navigation at IIT Hyderabad to provide a platform for industries, R&D labs, and academia to drive collaborative research in autonomous navigation.
TiHAN at IITH focuses on the research, design, and development of autonomous navigation and data acquisition systems for UAVs, ROVs, etc.
With a synergetic industry and academic collaborations, the hub aims at realising the utilisation of autonomous navigation and data acquisition systems in the Indian context.