On July 14, 2023, India made history. It became the first country to send a mission to the far side of the moon. And at a fraction of the cost of many Hollywood movies on space. For instance, the Chandrayaan-3 launch cost the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), a reported $74 million, which is less than half the cost of the Hollywood space movie Interstellar, produced at a budget of $165 million.
And some of the elements that were key to keeping costs down was ISRO’s choice to use home-grown technology. Technology like the one created by Chennai-based Dhvani Research (“Dhvani” being the Sanskrit word for sound; and given much of this startup’s technology relies on sound waves for testing equipment).
Founded in 2010, Dhvani Research designed and installed an ultrasonic non-destructive testing (NDT) inspection system for ISRO. How this works is – for large components of a space rocket; instead of dismantling it piece by piece to check for small fissures and cracks – Dhvani Research’s customised system helps in non-invasive testing by sound. Or in simpler, layman language, what Dhvani did was ensure the safety and soundness of key components in Chandrayaan-3.
And in a triumph of women-led STEM powerhousing, it wasn’t just ISRO which had a team of women scientists manning Chandrayaan-3 but also Dhvani Research; which is headed by its brilliant female co-founder Sujatha Chakravarthy. Other cofounders include IIT Professor Krishnan Balasubramanian, KS Venkataraman and KS Vivekanand.
She says the sweetest music to her ears was when ISRO responded with high praise to the systems Dhvani had come up with. In its letter of appreciation, ISRO said, “We are pleased to inform you that the ultrasonic transducer characterization system developed, supplied and commissioned by your company is working satisfactorily.” It also added, “We are pleased to inform you that the three axis ultrasonic C-scan imaging system integrated with air-coupled ultrasonic equipment is working well. The C-scan commissioned is very professional,” in response to another custom-built device (a multi-axis automated ultrasonic C-scan system for the inspection of composite structures using contact roller probes) by Dhvani to ensure the safety and workability of ISRO’s core components.
Dhvani’s values are also very much in tandem with ISRO’s – which tends to favour talent and merit be it even from rural engineering colleges over show and slickness from urban top colleges. The most famous of them would be ISRO chief S P Somanath, who did his engineering degree in Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering, Kollam, Kerala University before doing his master’s degree in aerospace engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
Dhvani founder Sujatha Chakravarthy also believes in being class-agnostic; that India’s top talent can come from its tier-2, tier-3 cities, towns and villages. For instance her latest recruits at Dhvani are two 22-year-olds — Arockiya Thilaga Mary and Raagavi D. While Mary’s done her MCA from Gandhigram Institute of Arts and Science, Dindigul, Raagavi’s done her B.Tech from Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Sivakasi. “I’m really keen on artificial intelligence and data science – which are my majors – so I never thought I’d be working straight off on big projects like the one Dhvani handles,” gushes Raagavi.
And currently Raagavi like other staff at Dhvani will be handling major projects from diverse sectors; ranging from defence to aeronautics to railways to oil and gas to automobiles. Dhvani’s client roster has an impressive list of names that include HAL, Tata Steel, Reliance, Toshiba, Daimler, Baker Hughes, Saint Gobain, JSW, Timnken, GE, IndianOil and TVS.
“Our desire to hire from rural colleges comes from our vision to give back to society. We feel that we need to give chances; a leg-up to promising youngsters who might not otherwise get such opportunities,” says Sujatha Chakravarthy.
A bootstrapped startup with no external investment, Dhvani Research and Development Solutions Pvt Ltd was started in 2010 with a capital investment of Rs 40 lakh – from its four founders. It was incubated by IIT-Madras in the IIT-M Research Park with 12 employees to start off with. Today it has outgrown those humble beginnings and is now functioning from a sprawling 24,000 sq feet campus in Perungudi Industrial Estate. It’s also now employing 100 staff members – 80% of whom are engineers from various domains like aeronautics, mechanical, civil, software and AI.
The startup has also now split itself into three companies — Dhvani Research R&D Private Solutions (Dhvani Systems), Dhvani Inspection Technology (DIT) and Dhvani Analytical Intelligence (DAI) – each with its unique set of capabilities. In 2014, Dhvani came up with the technology for India’s first indigenous rocket inspection system. The technology behind this has been patented by Dhvani with the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. In 2016, Dhvani came up with an indigenous gun barrel inspection system and in 2018 India’s first robotic inspection system with machine vision.
“Our robots are particularly nimble and adapted to inspect pipes on offshore oil rigs. It’s our patented technology and it really helps our oil and gas clients like Reliance and Indian Oil,” says Sujatha Chakravarthy, adding that their oil and gas clients now include those in the Middle East and South-East Asia apart from India.
Taking apart a pipe to see if there is corrosion would be a prohibitively expensive and time consuming affair; and yet oil spills and oil leakages that result in billions of dollars in losses; and in marine ecological damage is a harsh reality of the industry. How Dhavni helps – is by having its robot scale up pipes to do non-invasive testing.
“So you’ve steel pipes encased in cemented columns. Now how our systems help – is say — if it detects a corrosion that’s under 15% – that’s permissible. But a corrosion level of say 25-30% will mean the oil & gas company has to pad up the area and do additional welding. But say there is as high as 50% corrosion on a pipe – then the pipe has to be replaced. So it’s helping companies in decisions like this, that our robots help,” says Sujatha.
And such non-invasive testing is being requested not just by the oil & gas industry, but also by automobile manufacturers like the Southern giant TVS. TVS uses Dhvani’s technology to check for hairline cracks and fissures in its vehicle assembly line.
“Our attitude is anything that needs testing, we can build the device for it,” says Sujatha.
Dhvani’s work potentially has been saving the lives of millions as one of its clients is the railway parts manufacturer Timken. Why does the safety of railway components matter? Because any small crack in the bearing could widen to a rupture that might result in the derailment of an entire train. So when it comes to the railways – cylindrical roller bearings are used in axles and end fittings in a railway car’s wheels and traction motors. And Dhvani’s work for Timken has ensured that every bearing produced is tested for 100% soundness before leaving the factory.
Even the size of Dhvani’s systems varies. From a small tabletop device that could be fitted into Sujatha’s handbag to large testing equipment that’s over 8 metres long – Dhvani has built everything in the last 14 years of its existence.
Shell (missile) projectiles can go several miles off course if there is the slightest crack or fissure in them. For instance during the Vietnam war it was discovered that American missiles were repeatedly going off course. And it was only later discovered that the missile had a tiny foil warning sticker in front of the inlet, which was peeling off at high speed and being sucked in, blocking it and causing the missile to go off course.
“To inspect shells we built a 8-metre inspection device to do non-invasive testing,” says Sujatha.
So be the next time you see a Tata Steel factory in Jamshedpur or go to Sriharikota to see the ISRO museum – you can be reminded that India’s now at a place, where most of the technology that makes its wheels run smoothly are probably homegrown – thanks to the efforts of women like Sujatha Chakravarthy.