Thiruvanananthapuram: UST, leading digital transformation solutions company, today announced that it has sponsored an Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics lab at the Marian Engineering College at Kazhakoottam in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The lab was inaugurated by Antony Raju, Honourable Minister for Transport, Government of Kerala, and he pointed out that in today’s world, technology plays a vital role in developing solutions for big businesses, and this will prepare students for challenges of future.
Adding that it is the responsibility of technocrats to ensure that it’s used for the upliftment of society, the Minister dwelt upon the many areas where AI could be put to good use so that it alleviates the problems that the common man encounters in daily life. The lab was established by the Marian Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, which is an initiative of Department of Electronics and Communication at the college.
The UST-sponsored AI and Robotics Lab has been set up with sophisticated machines and devices that would be utilized for scaling up the skill set of the student community. The Lab is equipped with modern sensors, processors, and robot platforms. These up-to-the-minute gadgets can be used to develop self-driving cars, autonomous robots, facial recognition systems, object tracking and 3D designs. The Robot Operating System (ROS) that has everything for next-gen robotics projects, is one of the highlights of this Lab. The widely used development boards – NVIDIA Jetson and Raspberry Pi 4 are also available in the Lab.
Officials at the Marian Engineering College and UST said the facility will be open to all, especially to school students, who wish to know about developments in AI and robotics. Such collaborations between the industry and academia would go a long way in building an effective ecosystem that will uphold the vast interest of student community, they added.
“We, at UST, transform lives of people in various ways and one such initiative is to provide high valued learning experience to academic institutions and communities around us. This enables students to have first-hand experience on real time case studies and fast track their careers in technology companies,” said Gilroy Mathew, VP and Global Head of Semiconductor, UST.
Very Rev. Msgr Wilfred. E, Manager, Marian Engineering College, said, “the AI and Robotics Lab is a significant addition to the infrastructure facilities already made available for students at the college. We are grateful to UST for extending a helping hand towards establishing the new lab, which provides a much deeper understanding of the novel technologies that are changing the world.”
Besides Minister Antony Raju, and Very Rev. Msgr Wilfred. E, Manager, Marian Engineering College; the inauguration was attended by Dr. A. V. George, Member, Kerala State Commission for Backward Classes, Dr J David, Principal, Dr. A. Samson, Dean; Prof. Vinitha B. Elza, Head of the Department of Electronics; Dr. M. Manoj, Professor, ECE and Project Coordinator; Gilroy Mathew, Sthanu Ramakrishnan Thambi, and other officials from UST.
