IIT Bhubaneswar and Coratia Technologies have formed a partnership to develop underwater communication systems and robotic platforms for defence, maritime security, and infrastructure monitoring. The agreement combines the institute’s expertise in acoustic communication and signal processing with Coratia’s experience in unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), aiming to bridge the gap between research and industry-ready solutions.
The collaboration will focus on high-data-rate underwater communication, a field where radio-frequency signals struggle due to water’s properties. Acoustic technologies currently dominate underwater data transmission, but signal attenuation, noise, and environmental changes limit reliability. The partnership seeks to improve these systems by integrating advanced communication modules with robotic platforms, enabling better data exchange and control during underwater missions.
Beyond research, the two organizations will jointly develop prototypes, test them, and validate performance in real-world conditions. This approach could enhance the capabilities of underwater vehicles for tasks like infrastructure inspection, surveillance, and data collection—areas where human intervention is costly or dangerous. Potential applications include monitoring dams, bridges, ports, pipelines, and offshore assets, as well as defence, marine exploration, and disaster response.
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Debendra Pradhan, CEO of Coratia Technologies, emphasized the need for industry-academia collaboration to advance India’s underwater technology sector. “Reliable underwater communication and autonomous robotic systems are relevant for monitoring submerged infrastructure, conducting seabed surveys and collecting oceanographic data,” he said. The partnership will further explore joint participation in research programmes sponsored by the government, defence establishments and industry.
Coratia Technologies has previously licensed an autonomous underwater profiling drifter (AUPD) from the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) and the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC). This device measures temperature, salinity, and depth down to 2,000 meters, expanding the company’s focus beyond robotics into oceanographic research. The new partnership builds on this foundation, reinforcing Coratia’s role in developing indigenous underwater systems.
P R Sahu, a professor at IIT Bhubaneswar, noted that the collaboration would help bring academic research closer to industry requirements in an emerging and strategically important technology domain. “We have been encouraging innovation, facilitating technology development and creating opportunities for students and researchers to engage with real-world challenges by combining research expertise in underwater communication and signal processing with industry capabilities in underwater robotics,” he said. The agreement also includes long-term research initiatives, proof-of-concept development, and shared access to testing facilities.
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