An algorithm developed by a third-year engineering student from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIITH) to detect flying objects —helicopters, aeroplanes, drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and birds — faster and more robustly, could soon be used by the Navy. The solution was developed by Rishabh Bhattacharya at a nationwide competition organised by the Navy to address real-world operational challenges with innovative technological solutions. He won a cash prize of Rs 3 lakh. Speaking to Times of India (TOI), on Thursday, Rishabh said the Navy asked him to conduct further research so that the solution can be integrated into their functioning.

NLP may be mainstream in undergraduate colleges today but 25 years ago it was a niche field taking its tentative steps at IIITH. As the Language Technology Research Centre (LTRC) rings in its silver jubilee, here’s an account of its glorious journey. No mention of LTRC’s genesis is complete without a simultaneous reference to Akshar Bharati. For the uninitiated, the latter is a personification of a group that came together in the early 1980s to work on the computer processing of Indian languages, laying special emphasis on the traditional Indian theories of language. “It was set up at IIT Kanpur by the pioneers of language technology research in India, Prof. Rajeev Sangal and Vineet Chaitanya ji,” reminisces Prof. Dipti Misra.

Dr Pravin Venkat Rao, assistant professor at IIIT Hyderabad’s Earthquake Engineering Research Centre, explained that earthquake-resistant building design focused on minimising damage and ensuring safety during seismic events. “Unlike ‘earthquake-proof’ buildings, which are impractical and excessively costly due to the rarity of strong earthquakes in the region, quake-resistant buildings are designed to withstand shaking without collapsing,” Prof. Venkat Rao explained. “While these buildings may suffer damage, such as cracks, their structural integrity is maintained to prevent catastrophic failure and protect occupants”.