Amrita University of Coimbatore, one of the premier institutions of higher learning in India, opened the Amrita Automotive Research & Technology Centre (AARTC), a joint venture between Amrita University and Automotive Test Systems on January 28. The Rs. 15-crore facility was inaugurated by Dr. K. Tamilmani, Director-General, Aeronautical Systems, DRDO, and Ms. Rashmi Urdhwarshe, ARAI Director, Pune, who was the Guest of Honour, on the occasion.
The centre will assist the automotive industry in areas like vehicle evaluation, vehicle cooling and HVAC studies, road load data acquisition, emission, multi-body dynamics, etc. Along with graduates it will also support M.Tech and PhD students to use this facility for applied research and other sustainable technology researches.
Besides building a close rapport with the automotive industry, AARTC will help doctoral and post-graduate students of the university to gain hands-on experience by giving them an opportunity to participate in live research projects aimed at developing technologies for the government as well as industry.
In its first phase, a 4,000 sq. m. building is ready with the entire infrastructure for vehicle evaluation, engine testing and development and basic NVH facilities. The second phase, scheduled to be complete by the year-end, will cover a hemi-anechoic room, reverberation rooms, listening studio and complete NVH facilities.
According to Prof. Parameswaran, Director – Corporate & Industry Relations, AARTC is a clear manifestation of the university’s focus on research and innovation that would enhance the quality of teaching and learning experience of faculty, researchers and students. It would also enable the automotive industry to get valuable data on their products and facilitate decision-making on performance and target improvements. On the whole, it is an excellent initiative from the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
In her address, Ms. Rashmi Urdhwarshe observed that the creation of a right research environment in a university was indeed a great step and has the potential to work in areas of environment, road safety and energy efficiency. She also agreed to extend ARAI’s full support for the centre.
Dr. Venkat Rangan, Vice Chancellor, stated: “Automotive Systems is of immense importance to people of all walks of life in all parts of the world. Our Amrita Center aims to impart state-of-the-art learning and research to aspiring students, transforming them into brilliant engineers for industry and scientists for academia. It is our wish that the Centre comes up with several breakthrough innovations in this regard. The students are encouraged to participate in research projects right from their second year, apart from their final year projects.”
Mr. S. Ramanathan, Director, Automotive Test Systems, lauded the efforts of Amrita in supporting a great and fruitful Industry-Academia Initiative and promised to extend full support in making AARTC the most-sought-after research centre.
Dr. Thirumalini, Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Prof. S. Raju, Advisor, AARTC, were of the unanimous view that the new facility would be at the forefront to nurture creativity and talent and provide the right ambience for disruptive technologies to evolve.
The department also organized a panel discussion on “Building successful partnerships between Academia and Industry” with representatives both from industry and academia, followed by three concurrent workshops/technical sessions on Road Load Data Acquisition and Analysis & Vehicle Handling, Vehicle Simulation including Hardware In Loop (HIL), and Power Plants including Electric and Hybrid Vehicles (EHV).