TCS Grants Research Projects for FC Kohli Center at IIIT Hyderabad

In 2015, TCS established the FC Kohli Center on Intelligent Systems at IIIT Hyderabad as a platform to strengthen existing research and facilitate new activities in IT-related fields. To support impactful and long-term research, an endowment was created to fund ambitious projects.  

The Kohli Challenge Proposal (KCP) Scheme was introduced to identify and support deserving projects. The selection process involved multiple rounds of evaluation by internal and external reviewers, assessing criteria such as innovation, social impact, applied AI, spin-off potential, and system complexity.  

Three projects received full funding:  
- Development of bird-like drones using Dielectric Elastomeric Actuators (DEA).  
- Prototypes and technologies for healthcare applications.  
- Creation of an AI-incorporated RF bio-sensor prototype.  

Research grants under this initiative not only support the selected projects but also catalyze further research in related areas.  

Mission Parikshit: Pioneering Healthcare Innovations

One of the notable projects under the initiative, Mission Parikshit, led by Dr. Abhishek Srivastava and Dr. Anshu Sarje, focused on developing a low-cost, handheld pediatric pneumonia detector. The multidisciplinary project integrated circuits, sensors, computational, and clinical technologies.  

Additional developments under Mission Parikshit include:  
- A lung sound analyzer.  
- Fall detection and location monitoring systems for factory workers and the elderly.  
- A vital measurement system encompassing temperature, SpO2, blood pressure, heart rate, lung sound analysis, and protein analysis using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS).  
- Gas sensors and analyzers for health hazard prevention.  
- Non-contact breath and heart rate monitoring using radar sensors.  
- Nano rod-based biosensors for protein detection.  

These projects demonstrate the impact of research grants in advancing healthcare technology while fostering innovation across interdisciplinary domains.

According to the researchers, the grant was instrumental in the setting up of a chip-characterization lab with state-of-the-art equipment. “These facilities did not exist in IIITH previously. Now this lab’s equipment is being used in different projects by different groups and also by other institutes,” states Dr. Srivastava. Besides this, an electronic system design and an electronic design automation (EDA) lab facilities were also launched. These are tools that are essential in carrying out state-of-the-art research activities in the VLSI area. Some of the equipment and tools that were procured via the grant include a mixed signal oscilloscope, a data acquisition system, an oven for sensor fabrication, a 3D printer, consumable items like micro-controllers, sensors, and more.

“For the first time in the history of IIITH, we could conduct a tapeout – a significant milestone in the production of Integrated Circuits (ICs). With tapeouts, we now have a chance to submit our research work in the top conferences and journals,” says Dr. Srivastava. The newly developed facilities have empowered both students and researchers, fostering an environment of innovation and high-quality research and helped in accelerating the Center for VLSI and Embedded System Technologies’ (CVEST) progress. It is evident in other funding that they were able to attract such as 23 lakhs from DST under the Technology Development Program where the prototype that was developed helped in the proposal of worker safety devices, 3.12 crore from MeiTy under the Chip-to-Startup program to build chips and systems for healthcare and security applications using radar sensing, 26 lakhs from iHub-Data to develop systems improving commuters’ health and road safety, and 12 crore from DST under the Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence (PURSE) program which aided in the development of chip characterization and circuit measurement facilities.

“We have a number of on-going research work such as the development of neonatal heart and breath rate sensing, synthesizing proteins and antibodies for lab testing, integrating additional features such as blood pressure and respiratory rate into the RESPIRE device, noise reduction in lung sound capture, clinical trials and approval efforts, improving packaging and form factors, etc,” says Dr. Srivastava.

RF Biosensor

The project aimed to develop an AI-integrated biosensor prototype capable of detecting specific biosamples. Additionally, it involved designing and fabricating dedicated low-power CMOS integrated circuits to process the sensed output, along with creating protocols, supportive hardware, and ensuring their seamless integration.
“To conduct a good VLSI circuit design research, you need a design lab which is well equipped with state-of-the-art EDA tools, high-end servers to run heavy simulations, various development boards, a ICs measurement/testing lab, a lab to develop prototypes/boards in addition to manpower, so that one can send novel circuits/IP for tape-out i.e., fabrication,” says Dr. Zia Abbas, Principal investigator, adding that TCS funding through the grant greatly helped in establishing such labs. “Now, I am sending my novel circuits/IPs for tape-out which otherwise would have been limited to circuit-level results, thereby fulfilling my goal as VLSI researcher,” he remarks. 

Advancements Through Kohli Challenge Grant Funding

Laboratory Upgrades and Equipment Acquisition
 
The Kohli Challenge Grant facilitated significant enhancements in the Bioelectronics and AI-Hardware Labs at IIIT Hyderabad. Key equipment procured includes:  
- Autoclave, microcentrifuges, and sonicator.  
- Lab freezer, biohood, and orbital shaker bench.  
These additions strengthened the research infrastructure, supporting advanced experimentation and prototype development.  

The AI-Hardware Lab is currently developing:  
- A low-cost, in-house vector network analyzer.  
- A machine learning-based self-adapting hardware methodology to address real-time voltage and temperature variations.  

The VLSI Design Lab also underwent upgrades with the acquisition of state-of-the-art EDA tools, servers, workstations, and circuit boards, further enabling complex circuit design and testing.  

Securing Additional Funding

The outcomes from the Kohli Challenge-funded projects significantly contributed to securing additional funding for future research initiatives, including:  
- DST-PURSE (as Co-Principal Investigator).  
- C2S MieTy (as Co-Principal Investigator).  
- A consortium proposal is currently being reviewed.  

These advancements underscore the impact of targeted funding in fostering innovation, enhancing research infrastructure, and enabling the acquisition of further resources to sustain long-term development.  

Bat-Like Drones

“The TCS grant has been a substantial one for an area of research otherwise hard to fund because of its moon-shot nature,” remarks Dr. Aftab Hussain, Principal Investigator of the project titled, ‘Towards bird-like drones using polymer-based artificial muscles”. In a span of 18 months, the group designed and fabricated a flexible flapping wing powered by Dielectric Elastomeric Actuators, much like a bat’s wing. They also fabricated a pump-like structure for an artificial heart and successfully tested the flight of this ornithopter. Thanks to the grant, the researchers were able to procure material processing equipment such as a centrifuge, vacuum chamber, hot-plate, probe sonicator and so on. “This equipment is still being actively used by many of my students in various projects, sometimes even projects unrelated to the theme of the grant. These include the development of a conductive polymer ink, a flexible e-skin, and a colorimetry-based water sensor,” says Dr. Hussain. The results and the research papers published helped them in obtaining other funding such as the PURSE grant from DST. “The existence of a functional materials processing lab increased the confidence of the committee that we can handle such a sophisticated lab in an otherwise “IT” institute,” he states.

According to Prof. Madhava Krishna, Head of the Kohli Center on Intelligent Systems (KCIS), “The KCP was the first of its kind attempted within IIITH and turned to be the highest source of internal funding disbursed thus far. It provided a setting and ambience for the faculty to try out unconventional projects which are otherwise difficult to get funded. All the teams had a strong interdisciplinary representation, which is typically uncommon and the contribution of the diverse disciplines was evident in these projects. The review and the selection process were both rigorous undergoing multiple rounds and typically the reviews were appreciative of the progress, the results shown and encouraging. The success stories are suggestive that more such challenge proposals can stimulate cross-disciplinary and product-driven research within the Institute.” 

Read More:

Transforming 2025 Driven by AI, Machine Learning, and Robotics