SkyDrive, a leading Japanese eVTOL aircraft manufacturer based in Japan, is pleased to announce that the company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation (TiHAN) Foundation, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (“TiHAN”) to collaborate on unmanned drone technology to expand the drone market in India.
With the mission of “taking the lead in the once-in-a-century mobility revolution,” SkyDrive is developing accessible eVTOL aircraft for daily passenger transportation and heavy-lift drones for cargo transportation.
Indian Institutes of Technology Hyderabad (“IITH”) has been consistently ranked in the top 10 institutes in India for Engineering according to the National Institutional Ranking Framework issued by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, and top notch engineers conduct research on cutting-edge technologies. SkyDrive will be collaborating with TiHAN, India’s first autonomous navigation testbed facility at IITH for developing and carrying out activities related to heavy-lift drones.
Explaining TiHAN-IITH efforts in Autonomous Navigation, Professor P. Rajalakshmi, Project Director, said, “TiHAN IIT Hyderabad is excited to announce a strategic partnership with SkyDrive Inc. to collectively develop and execute activities about heavy lifting drone technology. This partnership marks a significant step forward in the advancement of drone capabilities, focusing on the design, development, and deployment of innovative heavy-lifting drone solutions.”
India faces various challenges in its land-based logistics system and the development of drones as a new means of logistics holds significant meaning. With a shared goal of creating a market for logistics drones in India, the two parties will be sharing expertise and exploring the market opportunities.
This collaboration was possible with the support of Suzuki Innovation Centre (SIC), a collaborative initiative between Suzuki Motor Corporation Japan (SMC) and IIT Hyderabad with a mission to build an open innovation platform to foster innovation for the benefit of both India and Japan.
