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‘Sooran is India’s first unmanned armoured vehicle’
Future war tech is already here
Future war tech is already here
Amidst hundreds of companies displaying their products at Defence Expo 2020, a bunch of start-ups from India has created a buzz internationally by their innovative war technology, highlighting India’s potential as a defence manufacturing hub.
Colonel Arvind Kumar, programme director for Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) — an MoD initiative to encourage innovations and entrepreneurship in the field of defence and defence production — said around 19 start-ups have been shortlisted to set up stalls to showcase their innovations.
LUCKNOW: What if machines fight instead of soldiers? The idea, which seems more from a sci-fi movie, came into a 34-year-old’s mind and didn’t let him sleep for days. But he decided to live his dream.
After working on the concept for almost a year and a half, Chennai-based Dennis Ebenezar came up with his war machine – ‘Sooran’.
“Sooran is the country’s first unmanned armoured vehicle, which can fight on battlefields and can be operated from a distance. This machine could be a boon in minimising casualties on the battlefield,” said Ebenezar, MD of a start-up ‘Defence Master’.
‘Sooran’ is has got a lot of attention at the Defence Expo and is the most debatable war machines here.
“One can operate it through mobile phone or from a control room. It weighs around 500kg and is one of the best unmanned armoured vehicles. It has a mounted gun turret, which too can be operated with remote control,” said Ebenezar while highlighting the specifications of the war machine.
He said it’s a multi-terrain vehicle and equipped with artificial intelligence, having petrol engine. The machine can be operated in three modes — tele-operated with remote, tele-operated from a mobile control station and through an autonomous mode, using artificial intelligence ‘NIVATA’.
The machine is also equipped with long-range cameras, high-end processors, controllers, sensors, power backup, etc. Officials said gunners can control ‘Sooran’ through beautifully designed tele-operation controls, similar to that of video games.
Ebenezar said several stake holders including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), DRDO and others have shown interest in the war machine.
“The unforgettable moment for me was when the Army chief visited our station and enquired about Sooran,” he added.
