Finnish telecom gear maker Nokia announced a collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru to set up a Center of Excellence (CoE) to facilitate research in the areas of network robotics.
“The research laboratory will promote inter-disciplinary research involving robotics and advanced communication technologies in 5G and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The CoE will also develop use cases in industrial automation, agriculture and disaster management,” Nokia said in a statement.
The center will facilitate engagement and collaboration between academia, start-ups and industry ecosystem partners for research and development of these use cases.
The research projects undertaken by the CoE will include advanced robotics, AI and automation solutions built on next-generation telecommunications networks and their applications to solve socially relevant problems.
“The next generation of communication technologies such as 5G and 6G will contribute immensely to the growth of India’s economy,” said IISc Director Professor Govindan Rangarajan.
He further added, “The collaboration will enable us to explore new frontiers for advanced technology research to benefit society as well as provide state-of-the-art training to enable our students to become technology leaders in the decades to come.”
In August 2020, the two entities signed an agreement to establish a CoE in Network Robotics, and since then a core group has worked tirelessly to establish and equip the center.
Chief Strategy Nishant Batra said, “We want India to drive global innovation in an era of convergence where, a few years from now, expanded reality (XR) and digital-physical fusion allow us to create, collaborate and communicate in unprecedented ways. will allow.” and Technology Officer at Nokia.
He added that “India has substantial untapped intellectual potential and potential”, and the partnership “will enable exciting possibilities for industry and society”.
Nokia said it would fund the CoE for three consecutive years to maintain the first phase of the partnership between Nokia and IISc.