Kolkata: IIT Kharagpur and Technical University of Munich sign Letter of Intent

Kolkata: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) signed a Letter of Intent for setting up a collaborative research centre on intelligent transportation which will enhance electric mobility systems including automobiles, rail, and marine craft. The Indo-German Collaborative Research Centre of Intelligent Transportation Systems (IGCRCoITS), will promote collaborations and interactions between the two institutions.

An IIT Kharagpur statement on Friday said that the collaborative Research and Development (R and D) between both institutions will emphasize the main areas of intelligent transportation enhancing electric mobility systems including automobiles, rail, marine craft, and UAVs. Vehicle energy management, battery management systems, transportation software and security, public transportation, data-driven transport planning and emerging mobility solutions will be the major focus.

IIT Kharagpur Director, Professor Virendra Kumar remarked, "This centre would form the umbrella academic unit orchestrating and synergising with several research centres and facilities on transportation at IIT Kharagpur including the IGCRCoITS." He said the future project assures the self-sustainability of IGCRCoITS in terms of resources and expansion along with the inclusion of new participants from the academia and industrial domains, for both India and Germany.

"Advanced research, consultancy, advisory and training programmes with participation of various beneficiary partners will create new domains to implement intelligent transportation systems," he elaborated. The first phase of the future trans project started in 2018 involving workshops, research groups, and sponsored as well as doctoral research in the diversified area of academia along with numerous publications in reputed journals and conference papers in the area of intelligent transportation.