The Indian Underwater Robotics Society, or IURS (registered as the Intelligent Unmanned Robotics Society), is India's first and only non-profit research organisation NGO for the advancement of low-cost robotics and intelligent systems research in developing countries. IURS also imparts education in it is focus areas to improve understanding of and representation in intelligent systems research within developing countries. IURS designed India's first operational Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) to compete at the AUVSI's International Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Competition. IURS is also the first and only Indian research and education NGO to operate in the field of robotics and intelligent systems. Ever since its inception in 2004, IURS has made many contributions towards furthering robotics education and research in India through involvement with the government, universities and local and international organisations.
History Even though IURS officially received its registration under the Societies Registration Act of 1860 only in 2007, the organisation had been functioning in its nascent form ever since December 2004. Initially, the organisation was established with the vision to develop India's first AUV and also enable the first Indian team to compete in the 2005 International Autonomous Underwater Vehicle competition organised by the AUVSI and the US Navy's Office of Naval Research in San Diego, CA, USA. The student team was put together after a nationwide call for applications and included members who had previously designed AUVs costing under $600 for the international competition. This student team designed the first operational Indian AUV with just a budget of $1000 and lived at relatives' homes in San Diego, the competition location, to save more money. This budget was a minor fraction of what the other teams had available. A new team of individuals competed as the IURS team in 2006 with a slightly higher budget of $1500 and had by this time managed to improve the performance of their AUV. Realizing the dire lack of talent due to a lack of focused and up-to-date education and the unavailability of low-cost robotics parts, the IURS team worked to register itself as an NGO specialising in research and education in the field of robotics. IURS designed education programmes, including summer schools and workshops, to facilitate practical applications of skills learned in and out of the classroom while producing an environment conducive to the growth of personal, educational, resourceful, and creative skills of students. The first multi-day Introduction to Robotics summer school was organised by using the in-house talents of IURS researchers in New Delhi in June 2007 and saw almost 100 participants from all across India. Better evolutions of this summer school were also conducted in the following years by using faculty and researchers from universities across the globe to bring world-class research experiences within the grasp of attendees. The organisation became one of the first to launch an online robotics parts store for students. This robotics store was able to bring much-needed easy access to affordable sensors, actuators, and development boards to students by passing on the import duty, tax, and profit savings to students. The emergence of the online robotics store, along with the education programme, launched a price-war amongst the few robotics parts retailers in India, which greatly benefited hobbyists and students. Workshops and educational programmes conducted by IURS are done with over 200 student and professional members in the organisation. IURS also developed novel low-cost sonar, computer vision and underwater robotic systems as a part of its research. An international tutorial programme to spread information regarding IURS research programmes was set up in 2009. This tutorial programme is also being used as a method to garner global support for spreading intelligent systems education in developing nations. Since its official formation in 2007, IURS has been working closely with Indian government organisations such as the Department of Science & Technology (DST) and other NGOs like the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) to bring together concerned research institutions, firms, and individuals at one platform for futuristic discussions to create greater awareness and linkages between the potential manufacturers and users of automation and robotics products. IURS has been working closely with policymakers and lawmakers to introduce regulations in the robotics education field in India to ensure that students receive a minimum guaranteed level of up-to-date knowledge rather than being cheated by many organisations looking to quickly profit from students' eagerness to learn. A similar effort to introducing standards within robotics is being pursued to enable low-cost applications to emerge. Since its foundation, the primary focus of research conducted by IURS scientists has been underwater robotics. However, in recent times, the organisation has started foraying into underwater acoustics, general marine technology and also terrestrial robotics and computer vision systems. IURS is now in the process of setting up national research programmes for students to participate in and gain valuable research experience. The funding for such programmes is to be derived from third-party projects.
Membership IURS offers two levels of membership, i.e. Student or Professional Membership and research and development Development Team Membership. Though the Student or Professional Memberships are open to anyone by subscription, the Research & Development Team Membership is strictly governed by application or nominations proceeded by governing board voting.
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