Anish Sathyan is pivotal in driving innovation and spearheading advancements in control and instrumentation technologies at C-DAC Thiruvananthapuram.

He designed, developed, and installed Konkan Railroads' Cloud-based Rail Track Monitoring and Alert System. It is a cloud-based solution for monitoring sensitive Konkan Railway cutting places for uncommon events like boulder falls/soil slips, flooding, tree falls, or other obstructions.

INDIAai interviewed Anish to get his perspective on AI.

How did you become a scientist after completing your Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering studies?

When I joined C-DAC 20 years back, I was theoretically an engineer with little knowledge of the practical aspects of electronics and its implications. I was fortunate enough to work with the legends in industrial automation and embedded systems during my early days, which shaped my career. As a toddler, I still remember the word 'scientist' struck my mind when my cousin married a scientist. Eagerly, I asked everyone what would be invented by a scientist. Those fascinating answers scribed the desire to be a scientist. Looking back on my 20-year-long career, I am privileged to participate in many national interest projects and contribute to building a self-sustained technology base for our nation. 

What significant improvements in techniques and technology have you noticed over your 20-year career as a scientist?

Twenty years ago, technology enhancements happened very slowly. But nowadays we are in a race to get updated with the technology. The lifespan of a new invention is much less, and new technological inventions overwhelm the existing ones. As scientists, it's a massive responsibility for us to keep pace with the new technological developments in the world. Specifically, the AI /ML areas widen the scope of embedded systems or automation solutions. 

Tell us about your "Rail Track Monitoring and Alert System" presentation at the AI Expo at GPAI-2023.

Rail Track Monitoring and Alert System (RTMAS) is a cloud server-based solution for monitoring the vulnerable cuttings in Railway lines for any tree fall, boulder fall/soil slip or any other obstruction in the railway track. The system is based on the active vision paradigm, adapting the perceptual aspects of biological vision to artificial systems. GPAI-2023 opens a platform to share the in-house AI solutions developed worldwide. Different experts from all over the world visited our pavilion and could exchange ideas and discuss multivariate use cases of the developed technology. Follow-up communications are in progress as a continuation of GPAI-2023.

Tell us about the exciting challenges you faced during the development phase of the Rail Track Monitoring and Alert System. How did you overcome them?

The AI-driven Rail Track Monitoring and Alert System is the first of its kind project in our nation. Konkan Rail Corporation Ltd (KRCL) and C-DAC Thiruvananthapuram signed an MoU to design and develop an AI/ML solution for one of KRCL's nightmare issues and to ensure a safer commute through the Konkan route. During the initial joint test and evaluation (T&E), we faced many issues like low detection rate, poor vision, especially during heavy rain, classification errors, etc. The Processing and analysis of thermal images increases the complexity. But we could improve the system performance to 80-90% during the last six months.

We spent days and nights at the site, studied different image behaviours over a long period, formulated multiple thermal image pre-processing algorithms, and developed image fusion, rain extraction and image stacking algorithms for better detection and classification. We got good support from Shri. Nagadath Rao (CE, KRCL) and Smt. Bindu Muraleedharan (CMIT, KRCL) deputed a dedicated team along with us to improvise the RTMAS system—also a Software team headed by Smt. Anupama (JD, CDAC) worked shoulder-to-shoulder at the back end for alert and report generation. Shri. Jerry Daniel (SD, CDAC) and Shri. Vinukumar (SD, CDAC) continuously monitored the progress and directed us to achieve the results at CDAC. 

We are in the process of patenting the developed technology. Also, we expect support from the ministry for the widespread installation of the RTMAS system for vulnerable locations, alerting animal crossing, etc. It ensures safer and more secure travel through rail tracks as we are introducing high-speed trains like 'Vande Bharat'. 

What are the other exciting projects on which you have worked so far?

Industrial automation is the thematic area I am working on. I was fortunate enough to be involved in the automation of Hydel Power stations, Sugar factories, Thermal power plants and water treatment plants. The most exciting thing about all these automation projects is that we achieved the goal using hardware and software modules developed in-house. I also designed and developed various sensors, IoT Communication protocols and framework work architectures. I was the project leader for designing and developing Agriculture automation solutions. We have successfully developed SMARTFARM systems, Soil sensors and AI/ML-driven leaf analysis systems in-house. Also I headed a project for Glacier Lake Monitoring and Alert Systems. Completed PoC at glacier lakes 18000ft above mean sea level. Now in discussion with NDMA for the second face of GLOF EWS on national interest. 

Tell us about your experience while presenting at GPAI-2023 in Delhi.

GPAI-2023 Provided a platform to interact with Global partners. We presented a live demonstration of the RTMAS system at the C-DAC pavilion. Leaders and techno carts from foreign countries visited and discussed the use case of the RTMAS system. Ministers from BRICS countries also visited and discussed the technology. Also our invention was covered by different newspapers and vloggers. Communication on different techno-commercial clarifications is still in progress.

What advice would you offer to someone looking to get into research? What is the best way to advance?

Keen interest in technology enhancements and sharp observance to identify problems and user requirements are essential for any successful researcher. The mindset of a researcher must always be in equilibrium to accept both success and failure. Analyzing and examining failures and learning from them is an added advantage.

What are some essential research articles and books that inspired you?

Undoubtedly, the books Ignited Minds' and 'Wings of Fire' by our great scientist and former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam greatly influenced me. Also, the autobiography of Steve Jobs enlightens the mindset needed to become a researcher. I am a regular follower of the articles on EFY and scientific journals.