Soar like a BIRD
Biologicaly Inspired Robots and Drones
A Center of Excellence at IIT Delhi
About Us
The Centre of Excellence (CoE) on BIRD, i.e., Biologically Inspired Robots and Drones, at IIT Delhi is an evolution from its humble research activities which began a few decades ago by its faculty drawn from the departments of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, and several others, and centres like Centre of Biomedical Engineering and others, including a strong student’s Robotics Club since 2002.
In 2010, the Programme for Autonomous Robotics (PAR), interdisciplinary research activity in the areas of design and control of robotic systems for various applications, was established with major funding from BARC/BRNS, Mumbai for whom a group of more than 12 faculty members and 20 students (Ph.D./Master’s/Bachelor’s) and project staff of IIT Delhi developed suitable technologies for BARC and transferred the knowledge to various other industries.
The PAR laboratory at IIT Delhi contributed significantly to the formation of an informal body in 2011, then called the Robotics Society of India (RSI) but later registered in 2017 as The Robotics Society (TRS) in India. TRS/RSI have been conducting a biennial International Conference (Advances in Robotics or AIR) since 2013, and IIT Delhi was honoured to host it in 2017.
- The PAR activities and the student participation in national Doordarshan (DD) Robocon competitions since 2003 have inspired both the faculty and students to start an Interdisciplinary Specialization in Robotics (IDSR) in 2015. Since then several IIT Delhi students graduated with their B. Tech degree certificates mentioning IDSR
- This enthusiasm continued and PAR activities wanted to spread its wings, particularly, with the joining of many energetic young faculty in the institute who wanted to work in the area of robotics for the needs of the country. The objective is to make robotic systems more efficient, human-like smart, intelligent and sustainable as well. As a result, IIT Delhi formally recognized the BIRD as its “CoEs Set-up by the Institute”.
- Recently, the country also recognized the strong base of robotics at IIT Delhi by approving the Technology Innovation Hub for Cobotics (i.e., Collaborative Robotics) in March 2020 through the DST, Govt. of India under its National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS). The TIH will be a Section 8 company owned by IIT Delhi to bring all stakeholders from India and abroad under one umbrella to conduct research and transform developed technologies to products for the benefit of society, be it medical or rural society or factories/MSMEs, and similar.
Projects Industrial and academic.
Members including faculty, students and techincal staff across various departments of IITD.
Publication in International/national conference and journals.
Years of experience.
TESTIMONIALS
Prof. Subir Saha
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
It is a pleasure for me to be able to write something for the CoE on BIRD. I as a member of the BIRD plan to contribute to the development of the subject of robotics, be it education, research, and social support, particularly, to exploit human intelligence and the robot's fearlessnes to dangerous environments, precision, and tirelessness to provide maximum job and business opportunites to the World economy.
Mr. Deepak Raina
Ph.D, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi offers an infrastructure and support for interdisciplinary research with its entire focus on solving real-world problems. I have enjoyed access to advanced facilities in the robotics lab. CoE on BIRD is promoting robotics research as per needs of the country. I couldn’t think of a better place to pursue my Ph.D.
Contact Us
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
The Centre of Excellence (CoE) on BIRD, i.e., Biologically Inspired Robots and Drones, at IIT Delhi is an evolution from its humble research activities which began a few decades ago by its faculty drawn from the departments of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, and several others, and centres like Centre of Biomedical Engineering and others, including a strong student’s Robotics Club since 2002.