Noida varsity scientist bags top DRDO prize

Noida: A scientist working at a private university in Noida has bagged the first prize in a contest run by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) — Dare to Dream 2

Noida: A scientist working at a private university in Noida has bagged the first prize in a contest run by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) — Dare to Dream 2.0 — for an artificial intelligence-based recognition system developed by her. The system can identify a person in the dark as well as in disguise, based on their psychological parameters, the university officials said.

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Dr Shivani Verma of the Amity Institute of Space Science and Technology (AISST), who developed the innovative concept, said that the system, among many applications, is primarily aimed towards helping security forces identify unruly elements in disturbed situations.

“The AI-based system, that uses databases with information such as pictures, skeletal and gait, would identify antisocial elements even in dark or in disguise, be it faces covered, manipulated finger prints, deliberate limping. In our country we have a lot of incidents of disturbance or riots where antisocial elements have their face covered, which makes it difficult to identify them. This system will help security forces in a very inexpensive manner as the software can be run on any computer. For this, a database would also be required with information like gait or skeletal data, that can be recorded using a device, which we are working on,” said Verma.

Verma is among five others who bagged the award under the individual researchers’ category, as per results available on the website of the DRDO. The second category is for start-ups.

She added that the concept will take a maximum of two years to develop, after which they will seek DRDO’s approval and funding.

“The concept submitted under the life-science technology domain, which bagged the first prize of ₹5 lakh in the individual category, was among 60 contenders. If further approved, the technology development fund scheme executed by DRDO will further provide 90% grant-in-aid on accelerated technology development or a project value of up to ₹10 crore in a 24 months period. For this, Dr Verma has already initiated her process of registering a start-up under the Amity incubation centre and hopes to complete this project within the set timeline,” said a statement from Amity University, Noida. The approval may take a few weeks to about four months.

The DRDO had launched the contest in August 2020 on the fifth death anniversary of former president and scientist Dr APJ Abdul Kalam to promote individuals and startups for innovation in defence and aerospace technology, under the central government’s Atma Nirbhar Bharat campaign.