T-Hub and Raytheon Technologies Select 3 Startups as the Finalists for the RTX Innovation Challenge in Computer Vision
New Delhi: T-Hub, which leads India’s pioneering innovation ecosystem that powers next-generation products and new business models and Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX), a global aerospace and defence company, today announced three finalists for a challenge the companies are running to develop a tool to improve how Raytheon Technologies assesses required aircraft engine repairs.
T-Hub and Raytheon Technologies reviewed applications from 70 startups across 14 countries and selected three companies to develop proof-of-concept systems. Ultimately, Raytheon Technologies is seeking a system that will improve and automate how the company inspects leased aircraft engines using computer vision and machine learning. During the program, the startups received technical mentorship from leaders and subject matter experts at T-Hub and Raytheon Technologies on how to build innovative technology solutions for the aerospace industry. In addition, the startups received direct access to T-Hub’s ecosystem of mentors, industry experts, investors and service providers.
Ravi Narayan, CEO of T-Hub and Chief Innovation Officer, State of Telangana, said, “During a global crisis, when all sectors face unprecedented challenges, the aviation sector is rapidly changing how it manages products, services and operations. The pandemic has presented massive growth opportunities for startups. To reap the right rewards, corporates and startups must collaborate to meet the demand-supply conundrum. Through the RTX challenge, in partnership with Raytheon Technologies, we have accelerated the best solutions that speed up the inspection process and enhance quality. This challenge has also laid a fertile ground for startups that are driving innovation in the aviation industry.”
“We’re always looking for new ways to improve efficiency and ultimately lower costs for our customers,” said Limor Spector, Raytheon Technologies’ executive director for Ventures & Alliances and executive director for Business Processes. “These startups are developing some of the best technology on the market today, and partnering with them will allow us to drive down costs while giving users even more insight into our engines.”
The three finalists are:
Awiros is a visual intelligence platform company based in Delhi, India. Forked out of its founder’s PhD work on a distributed operating system, Awiros’ platform for video and image AI is structured as an Operating System (OS) to help build and deploy diverse AI apps at scale. With the OS powering its core, Awiros platform has a marketplace with more than 50 different apps for diverse use-cases. Its developer-friendly tools also let other contributors to build and take their apps to market 10x faster.
Utvyakta Solutions is an Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) system integrator specialising in predictive maintenance and quality inspection. They offer real-time remote monitoring of critical assets, solutions for energy optimization in industries, and Digital inspection. They are operating in India, Sweden and the US currently.
PRENAV develops software and systems to digitize and visually inspect industrial assets. The company’s technology leverages 3D image processing and AI to automatically identify components and detect anomalies at the finest level of detail. PRENAV’s customers include railroads, electric utilities, aerospace companies and general contractors.