Role of drdo in various fields (other than weapons)
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is an agency of the Republic of India, charged with the military’s research and development, headquartered in New Delhi, India. It was formed in 1958 by the merger of the Technical Development Establishment and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production with the Defence Science Organisation. It is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.
DRDO has identified the following topics for future research & development.
Low Observable Technologies
The whole spectrum of techniques used to reduce electromagnetic signature, be it Infra red, electromagnetic emission, Radar or Sonar form a part of such technology, which encompasses materials, shapes or finishes for absorption, reflection and/or deflection of radar waves in directions other than the sensors etc.
GaN Devices
GaN being the most important Direct-bandgap semiconductor material, it is useful in Opto-electronic, higher frequency and high power devices.
SiC based Technology
Silicon carbide (SiC) a very hard and strong material, previously used as an excellent abrasive is now being developed as material because of its ability to function in high temperature, high frequency, high power and high radiation conditions which will enable large performance enhancements in a wide variety of systems and applications.
Technologies for Soldier support
Soldier modernization is a set of activities to enhance an Infantrymans lethality, survivability, tactical situational awareness, C4I, sustainability and mobility. To enhance the Infantrymans role as a platform and a system of systems of his own, expanding his capability to receive, send, analyse and display data is aimed at.
Nanotechnology
Nano science and Technology is an emerging field with scope for the advancement, upgradation and value addition of various defence systems.
TeraHertz
Terahertz region of the electromagnetic spectrum provides tangible solution to important practical problems such as concealed explosive detection, forgery and fake currency identification, non destructive testing on non metallic devices and many similar applications.
Sensors
Sensors are devices that receive and respond to a signal or stimulus, form an integral part of signal processing, communication and control systems. Besides being rapidly deployable, self organizing and fault tolerant they should cater to a variety of requirements such as acoustic, seismic, IR, magnetometers, imagers, micro radars etc.
Laser
The unprecedented precision and speed of lasers make them an integral part of any system to provide dominance over adversary. Lasers have exceptional characteristics like low divergence, short pulse width and speed of light which enable to intercept and interrogate the far off targets almost in real time. New technologies in material growth and diode lasers produce high peak and average power at various wavelength.
Functional materials
The functional materials are distinctly different from structural materials and their physical and chemical properties are sensitive to changes in the environment such as pressure, temperature, electric and magnetic field, optical wavelength, adsorbed gas molecules, pH value etc.
Solar Energy