ARTPARK Hosts Innovation Summit 2022

With a focus on creating a globally leading AI and Robotics Innovation ecosystem in India, Bangalore-based not-for-profit foundation, AI & Robotics Technology Park (ARTPARK) promoted by IISc and supported by AI foundry, today organized the ARTPARK Innovation Summit 2022. The one-day hybrid event, themed "Connecting the Unconnected '' building a smart, sustainable rural economy, took place at the historical Faculty Hall, IISc, Banglore. At the summit, participants, including Dr Ashwath Narayan C N, Hon' Minister (IT, BT & ST, Higher Education), Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, Prashanth Prakash (Accel), Dr Chintan Vaishnav (Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission), Shri Ram Sevak Sharma (CEO, NHA, ex-Chairman TRAI) and several other like-minded innovation enthusiasts from industry, academia, and government, discussed the creation of next wave of job growth outside of metro cities in India by connecting the unconnected population of the country with frontier technologies like 5G, AI & Robotics.

The summit witnessed an exchange of ideas on important topics such as how to create next-generation connectivity in rural areas, Health AI for Bharat, Connecting Bharat with Drones, using AI and technology to bridge the education and skills gap, and the importance of AI and robotics development and application. Live demo sessions of various legged robots, multi-terrain teleoperated UGVs, advanced air mobility solutions developed by ARTPARK & IISc, along with other startups, were also arranged for the attendees.

In his inaugural note, Dr Ashwath Narayan C N, Hon' Minister (IT, BT & ST, Higher Education, GoK), said, "How do we take the fruits of AI & Robotics technology to Bharat to create the next wave of jobs after the IT & BPO wave is a critical question. We have supported the creation of ARTPARK and this massive initiative by them will help the country's youth outside urban India not only access the next generation of digital work but also acquire the skills they need to thrive in an AI-driven future. It was a delightful experience to attend the summit, and Karnataka will take a leadership role to create the new economic growth model for Atmanirbhar Bharat."

Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, who attended the summit virtually, said, "India has the potential to become a world leader by unlocking the full potential of its rural economy, futuristic technologies like 5G, AI & Robotics will help realize this at a much faster pace and create the next big wave of jobs. We are already working with ARTPARK under our NITI Atal Innovation Mission and supporting innovative startups which are solving the critical problem of bringing connectivity to rural areas and enabling inclusive healthcare and education.

"Digital and physical connectivity innovations are critical to India's growth and Atmanirbhar vision. By bringing together industry, academia, and government in an open innovation network, NM-ICPS mission by the Department of Science and Technology is attempting a novel way to fast track innovations critical and strategic to the future prosperity of India. ARTPARK Innovation Summit, organized by ARTPARK (Technology Innovation Hub at IISc) is a critical step ahead in this process.", said Dr S Chandrasekhar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India.

"Jobs are the need of the hour. As the country's premier educational institute we feel that it is our responsibility to contribute to that. ARTPARK was created to use technology, specifically AI & Robotics, for the country's betterment. I am delighted to see that they are using technology to connect the unconnected in diverse areas like education & healthcare. IISc is at the forefront of research in frontier technologies like 5G and UAVs and ARTPARK is using that expertise to create a better India for tomorrow", said, Prof Rangarajan, Director, IISc, Chair BOD ARTPARK

The summit focused on crucial issues such as growing cutting-edge technology companies and powering the next big wave of technology Decacorns in India. It also highlighted the need to indigenously develop critical strategic assets for the nation, an essential cog in the Make in India process. Furthermore, the event also highlighted the role of emerging technologies and innovation and how incredible opportunities can be unlocked when the digital and physical realms are connected intelligently and robustly.

Speaking about the event, Mr Umakant Soni, CEO, ARTPARK said, "We are delighted to close the first edition of ARTPARK Innovation Summit on a fruitful note. The AI-driven experience economy is going to result in $15.7 tn of new economic value as per PWC Research. In order to have India at the forefront of the AI & Robotics revolution, we need to start exploring how these technologies can create new jobs in rural India and create better access to next-generation healthcare and education for the unconnected. The summit's goal was to help people understand that India doesn't require unlivable megacities; instead, it needs smart clusters that are more sustainable in nature, which can leverage the fruits of an AI-driven experience economy. And for this, we need to solve this 'connecting the unconnected' issue. At ARTPARK, we are harnessing the power of AI and Robotics to reshape every sphere of human endeavour: especially next-generation mobility, education, employment, and the creation of smart, sustainable villages."

ARTPARK Innovation Lab was also inaugurated at IISc Campus by Hon' Minister Dr Ashwath Narayan. The Lab will be used by ARTPARK to develop critical pieces of technology which are needed to power Atmanirbhar Bharat. Later, the summit featured panel discussions and fireside chats on topics such as Leapfrogging with Technology, Connecting the Unconnected, Health AI for Bharat, Connecting Bharat with Drones, Inclusive learning for the future, and Aadhaar & Cowin lessons for connecting India through technology. This was the first large-scale summit hosted by ARTPARK with industry experts and bureaucrats since its inception in 2020.

Other eminent personalities like Dr E.V. Ramana Reddy (IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Govt of Karnataka), Abhishek Singh (CEO MyGov), Prof. Ashutosh Sharma (eminent scientist & Former DST Secy, Govt of India), TV Mohandas Pai (ex Infosys, Chairman Aarin Capital), Vaibhav Gupta (CEO & Co-founder of Udaan), Vivek Raghavan (Chief AI Evangelist, EkStep), Subhashis Banerjee (CIO, ARTPARK), etc. also attended the summit and shared their views with the audience.

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About ARTPARK:

AI & Robotics Technology Park (ARTPARK) is a one-of-its-kind, not-for-profit foundation established by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru with support from AI Foundry in a public-private collaborative model, to promote technology innovations in AI (Artificial Intelligence) & Robotics. With seed funding of INR 170 Cr ($22Mn) from the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India, under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), the ecosystem is designed to bring about a collaborative consortium of partners from industry, academia, and government bodies. These innovations will be channelized to create a societal impact by executing ambitious mission-mode R&D projects in healthcare, education, mobility, infrastructure, agriculture, retail, and cyber-security that focus on problems unique to India. ARTPARK has received a further INR 60 cr grant from Govt. of Karnataka to create cutting-edge innovations in terms of new technologies, standards, products, services, and intellectual properties out of India.