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SDE founders Nikunj Parashar, Mridul Babbar and Lakshay Dang

When the 26/11 attacks happened in Mumbai in 2008, many questions were raised about the acute lack of coastal security systems in the country. It had sparked off a series of dialogues on transforming India’s coastal defence infrastructure, the chinks in our system and the limits of man and machine to guard our shores.It also changed tracks for founders of maritime tech startup Sagar Defence Engineering (SDE) who realised that their technology could help prevent such a grave threat from occurring again. “Though SDE was born with a mission to help ships become autonomous and keep sailors at home, the 26/11 Mumbai attack completely changed our mindset. It is an example of our porous maritime boundaries despite the presence of a large Navy and Coast Guard forces. This clearly paved the way for technologies like ours. These systems could act as the eyes and ears of the soldiers for monitoring each and every entry/exit points of the ports, harbours and coast,” reasons Nikunj Parashar, Founder of SDE.Their ‘Boat in a Box’ Autonomous Navigation System - Genesis - uses AI to accomplish a repetitive and quantifiable marine task more reliably as compared to direct human control. “Genesis is a forward-looking autonomous technology, which has AI-enabled advanced control systems for all kinds of boats and ships that increase operational safety, efficiency, and productivity on the water,” says Parashar.The technology is such that it provides a simple vessel the ability to carry out tasks which were earlier done only by special purpose vehicles. Unlike designing an autonomous vehicle from scratch, the beauty of the system is that it can turn any vessel into a sailor-less one. This, in turn, also helps to save lives. “The increased use of unmanned vehicles will reduce the number of human life risks involved, thereby saving innumerable lives venturing into the sea,” he elucidates.Parashar talks about the actual ‘genesis’ on the basis of which SDE was initially founded. “About 90% of the world’s food, fuel, raw material and manufactured goods are delivered by sea. Nearly all things sold worldwide are transported through ships. One of the biggest difficulties seafarers face in their life is staying away from their loved ones while they carry out their duties at sea. Missing family events is the price they pay to ensure that the cargo reaches people on time. This is where the idea of SDE was born,” he recalls.SDE wants their innovation to allow seafarers stay at home and, at the same time, also carry out the ship navigation from an everyday office. “Imagine what a digital world it would be where everyday a captain of a ship returns home and still makes sure the cargo all across the world reaches on time,” adds Parashar. This remains the startup's ultimate future goal, which they plan to essay over the course of time.As far as their AI-enabled system is concerned, it took the startup four years and numerous sea trials to develop, test and induct it with the Indian armed forces. This system could be retrofitted upon a regular vessel, giving it all the capabilities of an intelligent vessel as well as the ability to execute repetitive missions without human intervention.The technology collects and communicates ocean data, in real-time, through unpredictable conditions. It connects subsea data and communicates it to satellites thereby creating an all encompassing ocean network. The AI used by the system updates algorithms with operational data in fresh ways to discover trends and deliver varied insights on vessel controls. Such AI helps SDE immensely. “AI allows us to better understand big data. So as the technology learns and collects data, it will bring a better understanding of the ocean,” Parashar says.The story of Sagar Defence dates back to 2011 when Parashar had quit his job in a shipping company that was based in Denmark and was working on innovation in autonomous technology with his wife. “The going was getting tougher everyday and my wife had to continue working full time to support the family,” he says.During a startup pitch competition, Parashar met Mridul Babbar and Lakshay Dang, who had just completed their engineering and had returned after an award winning project from NASA at the international level. “I asked them if they were interested to embark on the journey which I had set on. Without a moment of hesitation, they said yes. Since then we have not looked back and this year we even raised our first ever Pre Series A investment from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India ,” adds Parashar.Recalling the early days of struggle, he remembers how getting a contract or even an appointment from the nodal agencies was extremely tough in the beginning. And, at one point, he even contemplated going back to his previous career.“It was one such fateful night and Invest India had just launched their website for the first time. At around 2330 hours late in the night, I wrote an email on their given mail ID but thought that nobody would reply back as had been the usual norm till then. That is when an email came back soon enough asking our requirement and what we were doing. The chat continued till the early hours of the morning the next day. And the next morning we had a meeting fixed in different ministries to explain the workings of our startup. This brought in new life in our motivations and changed us forever,” he reminisces.The startup has several applications and services which are paired in offerings along with their product and can be used across diverse areas. For instance, recovery of spilled oil from the ocean and lakes by using unmanned boats with oil skimmer; MET ocean data collection; Offshore windfarm inspection like scouring checks, cable inspections; Security and surveillance for port installation; Search and rescue-based applications among others. “SDE is a bridge for all existing vessels in full or semi autonomous and hybrid unmanned control navigation as it is a customisable system. Unmanned systems can change the way data is collected and researched,” claims Parashar.The opportunity for the product in India, the founders feel, is huge. Their unmanned vehicles have already been used for applications like security and surveillance, target tracking and disaster management by the armed forces.Parashar feels that even bigger opportunities are waiting to be discovered in this space. “The development of unmanned systems will allow researchers to better understand unpredictable oceans and uncover new possibilities. Current market composition is fragmented as there are a wide variety of unmanned systems,” he says.The given market is segmented into defense, commercial, scientific research and others. SDE plans to take their hybrid technology with smart software algorithm engines/hardware that can be utilised in manned and unmanned operations, configured to suit the particular vehicle irrespective of the vehicle type.The company has successfully completed pilots such as the Kumbh Mela , Pune Chinchwad Municipal Corporation and Aksa Beach Clean-up drive. In fact, the startup has an autonomous garbage and data collection system that claims a cost reduction of more than 60%, zero carbon emissions and collection of real time data more efficiently and accurately.Plans are underway now to set up a manufacturing plant in India with the Indian government already allotting a waterfront in Mumbai for the same. Besides this, they have export orders for multiple such vessels and autonomous systems and are looking to expand into the North American markets. In Parashar’s mind, the goal is clear enough - building a ‘ digital ocean ’ demographic. “We are working towards this as it will lead to oceanic sustainability, ranging from sustainable autonomous shipping, ecosystem health to preventing pollution. We want to change the landscape of India’s maritime ecosystem, creating digitally connected harbours, ports and ships in the times to come,” he sums up.