Kurnool’s proposed Drone City has received a technology and research partnership from IIT Hyderabad’s Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation (TiHAN), which has signed a memorandum of understanding with Andhra Pradesh Drones Corporation (APDC) to support its development.
The agreement was signed on Saturday in the presence of Union civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu and IIT Hyderabad director Prof BS Murty. Under the MoU, TiHAN-IITH will act as APDC’s technical and knowledge partner for planning, developing and operating the Drone City and related initiatives.
TiHAN will provide technical expertise, research inputs and strategic support, while APDC will contribute its role as the Andhra Pradesh government’s nodal agency for drone technology and Drone City development. The partnership is intended to strengthen the wider drone ecosystem in the state.
The collaboration will cover research and development in unmanned aerial vehicle platforms, sensors and payloads, artificial intelligence and machine learning, autonomous systems, communication technologies and unmanned aircraft system traffic management. The organisations will also work on testing, policy, standards and best practices for drone operations and ecosystem development.
The MoU includes plans for joint research projects, proof-of-concept projects, pilot programmes and innovation challenges. These activities are expected to bring together researchers, startups, industry stakeholders and government agencies around drone-related technologies and applications.
Skilling and capacity building are another part of the agreement. TiHAN and APDC plan to work on curriculum development, specialised training modules, certification programmes and workshops for government officials, industry stakeholders, startups and students.
TiHAN is an innovation hub at IIT Hyderabad focused on autonomous navigation and related technologies, including unmanned aerial systems. Its research and technology capabilities will be combined with APDC’s institutional role in advancing drone technology and developing the proposed city in Kurnool.
Prof BS Murty said the partnership would bring together Andhra Pradesh’s vision for the Drone City and IIT Hyderabad’s strengths in research, technology development, testing and innovation. He said the collaboration could create opportunities for researchers, startups and industry while supporting the development of advanced drone technologies in India.
The announcement establishes the proposed Drone City’s initial institutional framework through a state government agency and a technical research partner. The next steps under the MoU include developing joint projects, training programmes, pilot initiatives and testing and policy-related work.
