IIT’s deep-tech exhibition provides glimpse into future innovations

The I-Hub Foundation for Cobotics (IHFC) at the IIT, Delhi, buzzed with energy. Prototype drones hummed overhead, robotic arms flexed with human-like precision, as clusters of students, researchers, and industry leaders leaned in to see the next big idea unfold. This wasn’t just another exhibition, it was a window into the future of Indian deep-tech.

The showcase, held under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), brought together 25 startups working across healthcare, robotics, AI, defence, education and disaster response. Each stall told a story of innovation stitched with social impact.

At one corner, visitors tried NeuroDrishti’s AI-powered glasses, designed to help the visually impaired navigate busy streets, read signboards and even recognise voices. Just across, a team from Tezpur University drew a crowd around ENRICH, their lightweight, EMG-controlled prosthetic hand. “It exhibits almost human-like reflexes,” explained a student innovator, as the device clenched and released in sync with muscle signals.

In the centre aisle, children gathered around Rancho Labs, tinkering with mini-robots and learning how coding blends into play. Not far from them, the hum of drone rotors from BotLab Dynamics filled the air as engineers demonstrated UAVs capable of surveillance and battlefield assessments.

Healthcare, too, had a strong presence. Articulus Surgical, a Bengaluru-based MedTech startup, displayed VR-based surgical simulators alongside robotic instruments, promising to make precision surgery more affordable. On another table, Exobot Dynamics showcased their bionic hands, modular, cloud-supported, designed to give amputees not just mobility, but dignity.

But the biggest gasps were reserved for DTECH’s COBRA robot, a snake-like, bio-inspired machine built to crawl into collapsed buildings, locate trapped victims, and relay their status to rescuers. Watching it slither through a mock rubble pile, the audience couldn’t help but whisper: “This could save lives.”

Amidst the excitement, Prof Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, DST, set the tone for why hubs like IHFC mattered, “The DST’s National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical System was a ‘game-changing paradigm’ in funding, leading to the creation of independent Section 8 companies like IHFC within academic institutions, a first for the DST. This unique structure was designed to become a ‘fulcrum of fostering the industry academy of collaboration’. The mission has been successful in creating a platform for translational research and fostering collaborations with industry and end-users. We view hubs such as IHFC crucial for providing a pipeline of deep-tech startups and industry linkages.”

By the time the exhibition wrapped up, the hall carried the same hum it began with, but now it wasn’t the machines alone. It was the sound a shared belief that deep-tech startups in India were unfolding in the present.