From ground to space

Founders: Onkar Chopra, Debasish Ghose and Dhavala Sai
Year: 2023
Big idea: Developing the concept of a drone corridor and facilitating slung load application of drones

With drones growing in numbers, the Government has announced a policy framework for Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management. But what if there were a defined drone corridor and a facility by which drone operators know exactly where another drone is on that corridor so that they can re-route their machines?

This is what AlgoBotix, a drone technology start-up, is developing. Incubated at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, it plans to launch a designated airspace that confines drone movements to ensure safe and efficient operations for multiple drones.

Founded by Onkar Chopra, an Aerospace Engineering graduate from IISc, Debasish Ghose, a Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at IISc, and Dhavala Sai, a graduate of the Vellore Institute of Technology Business School, AlgoBotix is working on two products — Ubix Automatica, which will define a drone corridor, and Stigmergix, which will facilitate slung load application of drones. The names of the company and the two products draw inspiration from Asterix comics; AlgoBotix combines Algorithms and Robotics.

According to Ghose, his lab had developed a few technologies which Chopra implemented. One of the technologies was Drone Skyways, an organised drone corridor in the sky which allowed multiple drones to operate simultaneously without occupying too much space. The drone corridor uses software and algorithms to define rules for operating drones by geo-fencing the lanes in the corridor. Chopra explains that they have developed algorithms to check if the corridor has spatial and temporal conflict. If there is any conflict, it will change the contours of the corridor to avert a collision between two or more drones.

AlgoBotix plans to launch by 2024-end the first version of Ubix Automatica (named GRAM-GATI), which is a stack to manage lighter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle traffic and is suitable for rural aerial mobility. Ubix Automatica will ensure geo-fenced lanes for the drones to fly in. The product has three components: a software suite to plan and monitor drone traffic in the corridor; an add-on module on the drones for command and control; and communications infrastructure.

Chopra says the second product, Stigmergix, is slated to be launched by March 2025. It will help in slung load applications. Instead of building larger drones to carry heavier payloads, this will facilitate the use of multiple drones for heavy loads. AlgoBotix will make the sensors, which will be placed on the cargo being carried, and also provide the software that will coordinate between the drones.

Founders: Afser Shariff, Divya Acharya, Lokesh Murthy K.M. & Prathap M.
Year: 2020
Big idea: To develop an IVD (In Vitro Diagnostics) device for haemostasis targeted at small and mid-size labs

Afser Shariff had worked in the medical diagnostics sector for nearly 20 years and was well aware of the problems that small- and mid-sized diagnostics laboratories faced, particularly in rural areas. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the fact that India's laboratories lacked diagnostic equipment, most of which had to be imported. To tackle these issues, Shariff started Dfine Bio-Innovations with three former colleagues.

The founders see Dfine Bio-Innovations as a platform for indigenously developed medical devices and solutions that address the specific demands of small laboratories. The platform is also a small step towards self-reliance. Another key goal is keeping innovation affordable. The company's main clients are labs in rural areas that cannot afford imported devices and equipment, and find it difficult to adapt to new technology.

Shariff, who has a degree in Life Sciences and a diploma in Pharmacy, says the company has developed an IVD (In Vitro Diagnostics) device to address bleeding disorders. "We have developed a single-channel haemostasis system that helps clinicians understand bleeding and thrombotic disorders in the human body," he says. The product was launched in April 2024, four years after they began working on the device.

The device helps determine clotting times accurately from a patient's blood sample. A coagulometer or haemostasis system determines whether a clot formation is normal or not. Two methods are applied to determine this. One is through optical transmittance, where a change in viscosity due to a blood clot blocks the transmitted light and generates a trigger, which the microprocessor senses as a clot. The other method is mechanical: a ball oscillates in a cuvette until a clot gets entangled with the ball, ceasing its movement.

Shariff says Dfine Bio-Innovations has developed a single, semi-autonomous platform where the two technologies can be used on the same system. The device will help laboratories validate the result using the second technology, instilling confidence in the reporting. It has earned a patent for this technology. It has a single-channel device now — which means that only one test can be carried out at a time — but is developing a two-channel device where the laboratory can conduct two tests simultaneously.

Incubated at the Foundation for Science Innovation and Development at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Dfine Bio-Innovations has set up a manufacturing plant at the MedTech Zone in Visakhapatnam. According to Shariff, Dfine Bio-Innovations's product FibriTimer Zeta-1 costs around ₹55,000, and is 35% cheaper than imported devices.