Bhubaneswar-Based Startup’s AI Aircraft To Be On Display In Paris Tech Fest

Bhubaneswar: India’s first artificial intelligence (AI) powered electric aircraft, developed by a Bhubaneswar-based startup, will be displayed at Europe’s largest startup event- VivaTech in Paris.

The AI aircraft RM001, developed by startup BON V Technology, will be on display at the tech and startup event to be held from June 15 to 18 as one of the innovations from India. The BON V has designed the aircraft to be used as a reliable, safe, clean and sustainable means of transportation of cargo in inaccessible areas.

It can be useful particularly in Odisha, which is affected by natural disasters regularly. The aircraft is equipped with state-of-the art technology to navigate itself during flight, avoid obstacles and communicate with ground stations and worldwide through 4G and 5G connectivity. Capable of carrying 200 kg of cargo for 40 km, it is claimed to be seven times cheaper than air transport.

“It does not need to be operated once the destination location is entered. It automatically calculates the shortest aerial route and safe elevation to fly as per digital aerial maps. It has the world’s smallest and lightest avionic footprints,” Times of India quoted said Abinash Sahu, chief technical officer of BON V as saying.

“A week ago, we got a call from the Embassy of India in Paris that we have been selected to present our innovation at VivaTech. Before we could understand anything, we got another call from Niti Aayog and they asked us to take our vehicle to Paris. It was followed by a series of calls, mails, and permissions for sending our design to Paris,” said Satyabrata Satpathy, chief executive officer of BON V Technology.

Satyabrata will leave for Paris with his team on Monday, while the aircraft has already been sent to Paris for the Embassy of India in Paris.

In April, the AI aircraft was displayed during a tech-fest by Niti Aayog to celebrate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahaotsav’ at New Delhi and had drawn the attention of the policy-makers. BON V has targeted to commercialise the aircraft by the end of 2022.

BON V Technology, funded and incubated by Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi, was started by seven techies in 2021. “The startup aims at making aerial logistics super affordable at par with road transport in the hilly region,” said Gaurav Achha, co-CEO, BON V.