A project of ‘Team Vision’, a student team from 2016-2020 batch, B.Tech Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) of Amrita School of Engineering (ASE), Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore campus, has been selected as a top 20 innovation in the industrial sector category of the India Innovation Growth Programme (IIGP) 2.0 University Challenge held at IIT Bombay (IITB) from June 29-30, 2018. With an objective to develop an innovation pipeline in India, IIGP 2.0 is organized by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, Lockheed Martin and Tata Trusts and supported by FICCI, Indo-US Science and Technology Forum, IITB, IIM Ahmedabad and Tata Center for Technology and Design at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Supporting the Government of India’s missions of “Start-up India” and “Make in India”, IIGP enhances the Indian innovation ecosystem by enabling innovators and entrepreneurs through the stages of ideation, innovation and acceleration, to develop technology-based solutions for tomorrow.

Over 700 teams participated, with the top 20 innovations selected for the down select ideation presentation in both industry and social sector categories. The criteria was predefined parameters including technical/conceptual design that considered the advancement in state-of-the-art for the selected technology and risk involved, the need for the innovation, design/build/cost estimates, team dynamics, market assessment and creativity. Other presentations were from premier institutions such as IITs at Bombay, Delhi, Kharagpur and Madras; IIIT-A, JIPMER, ICT, etc.

‘Team Vision’ was represented by student leads, Anupam Rajanish and Sakthisree Venkatesan along with team mentor, Prof. Prashant R. Nair, Vice-Chairman, CSE department, ASE Coimbatore. Other members in the team include Yeshwanth Sripathy, Vijey Shrivathsan, Keerthana S., B.V. Krishna Rao and V. Sriharsha with Dr. K. V. Shriram, Assistant Professor, CSE department, ASE Coimbatore, as another faculty mentor.

The Team Vision’s ideation pitch was to develop Augmented Reality (AR) glasses that render the physical world visible to the visually impaired. The idea proposes leveraging technologies like AR, digital twin and bone conduction technologies for developing the glasses. Considering the fact that there are more than 253 million visually impaired people worldwide and 39 million in India as per WHO in 2017, the proposal of Team Vision echoes Chancellor Amma’s vision to leverage technology for societal benefit.

Dr. Sasangan Ramanathan, Dean of Amrita School of Engineering, Coimbatore campus, shared, “I am very proud of ‘Team Vision’ from CSE for their achievements at the national level. This is a prolific and consistent student team, which has secured top positions in Smart India Hackathon, N/Core Ideathon and TCS EnginX competitions. This is a true reflection of the character of Amrita, where we believe in our students, nurture and encourage them to follow their passion and innovation.”