Taking a giant leap to bridge the demand for skilled workforce, AjnaLens, Mumbai-based XR hardware and software company, joined hands with Tata Technologies to digitize 150 ITIs in Karnataka. The initiative equips ITIs with AjnaXR stations, the VR-based Phygital Training Simulator that provides immersive skill training to drive performance and reduce training cost. The Karnataka ITI Upgrade into Industry 4.0 aims to upskill more than 9,000 students this year as part of this initiative. By far, this is the largest implementation of a VR based trade skilling simulator in the world.
AjnaXR Station is a made-in-India, highly scalable VR training simulator for Industrial trainings
One-stop solution for diverse set of trainings
Virtually teleports trainee to an actual job site/paint shop/welding workshop
Unlimited practice on industry-graded tools to build muscle memory
Multilingual training that gives immediate ROI
Taking a giant leap to bridge the demand for skilled workforce, AjnaLens, Mumbai-based XR hardware and software company, joined hands with Tata Technologies to digitize 150 ITIs in Karnataka. The initiative equips ITIs with AjnaXR stations, the VR-based Phygital Training Simulator that provides immersive skill training to drive performance and reduce training cost. The Karnataka ITI Upgrade into Industry 4.0 aims to upskill more than 9,000 students this year as part of this initiative. By far, this is the largest implementation of a VR based trade skilling simulator in the world.
AjnaXR Station is a made-in-India, highly scalable VR training simulator for Industrial trainings
One-stop solution for diverse set of trainings
Virtually teleports trainee to an actual job site/paint shop/welding workshop
Unlimited practice on industry-graded tools to build muscle memory
Multilingual training that gives immediate ROI
“Skilling will drive India through the Industrial Revolution 4.0. Enabling and empowering the grassroots is pivotal to bridge the skill gap. AjnaLens has successfully transformed the ITIs in Karnataka and is ready to create more ripples by cascading the impact to other states of India. It is a well-equipped workforce that will truly harbour India’s future and meet the growing demand of the industry.” says Sushil Kumar, Global Head, Govt Projects & Skill Development at Tata Technologies. AjnaLens has been working towards creating a tangible impact in the training sector with their innovative ideas backed by cutting-edge technology. Abhijit Patil, Co-founder & COO, AjnaLens says, “Collaboration is key to bringing an inclusive and lasting change. We thank Tata Technologies for making us a part of this impactful initiative. Aligned with our vision of Make in India and creating a positive impact at the grassroots, this partnership is a key milestone towards upskilling the current and future workforce of India. Combining immersive virtual experience with the actual industry-graded tools paves the most effective and sustainable way to make India’s youth job-ready. Going forward, we plan to multiply the impact by expanding the training module across other states.” AjnaXR Station is a scalable VR training solution which is manufactured and assembled in India. Each station is equipped to provide training across multiple modules by representing the real world in the virtual world, making training effective and engaging while reducing the training time and cost. “Upgrading the skilling ecosystem of the country, AjnaXR station provides scalable, data-driven training to the youth. While we are progressing on multiple development indices, the rate of unemployment and skill gap in India is glaring. Our goal is to encourage youth to gain hands-on experience and help them increase their earning potential by becoming employable.” he adds. Enabling the trainees to practice the skills for long hours, the company has built one of the world’s most lightweight VR Glasses which weigh only 153 gms, as compared to the popular international brands which weigh around 500 gms. In order to help students build muscle memory, AnjaLens has built an innovative tracking system to track real-life tools in the virtual environment, making the product highly scalable for training. The initiative will empower youth at the grassroots by exposing them to upskilling opportunities which AjnaXR Station brings to their nearest ITI. The impact-driven startup, AjnaLens, has successfully created direct and indirect employment for students, especially for female ITI students by engaging them to assemble and deliver 300 units of AjnaXR Station. The trained students play the role of peer-facilitators, encouraging more students to join and create scalable impact by bridging the skill gap. AjnaLens is trusted by prominent clients including the Indian Army, Navy, Ministry of Defence, DRDO, Government of Maharashtra, Vedanta and supported by Forge Accelerator, a leading startup incubator, through every stage of its journey. About Ajnalens – Named after ‘Ajna’, the sixth chakra or the third eye which activates ‘intuitive vision’, AjnaLens is a Mumbai-based company making immersive augmented, virtual and mixed reality devices and software solutions for Defence, Enterprise and Skilling sectors. It is the first and only XR hardware OEM to manufacture AR/VR glasses in India. The impact-driven startup is on a mission to unlock human potential by empowering them with augmented intelligence. In November 2014 at IIT Bombay, AjnaLens was established with a purpose to foster inclusive development in society by empowering people at the grassroots with the right tool for this decade – a ‘holographic computer’. It empowers and enables humans into perceiving and doing what is beyond their capabilities by seamlessly connecting the digital world with reality. AjnaLens is currently helping India’s government and fortune 500 companies in their digital transformation journey by providing end-to-end solutions such as Enterprise Metaverse, VR training simulators, AR-based remote assistance, Digital twin as well as providing indigenous defence solutions like see-through armour to Indian Defence forces. AjnaLens has filed 15+ National and International patents in augmented reality and allied fields. The company has won accolades like the Most promising startup by ECLINA Defennovation for cutting-edge innovations. AjnaLens is a growing family of 50 people, inviting bright minds to join their vision.
Abhishek has a Masters in Computer Science and is the coding genius amongst the founders, who can code 52 hours straight. His skillset specializes in computer vision & computer graphics whose AR+AI work has featured in award winning films & computer games. He is the spiritual core techie behind all IPs & various algorithms deployed on our wearables.
He has 17 years of experience in this field and developed many algorithms & technologies like real-time camera and environment tracking, real-time 3D background generation, dynamic lighting for virtual objects, virtual cinematography using virtual camera, 3D face reconstruction, digital dress reconstruction and dynamic simulation.
He has 12 patents & 5 publications, and he regularly presents at the SIGGRAPH conference. Due to his expertise, he is leading product & technology development, software & algorithm development, IP development & leading team towards our technology vision.
Abhijit Patil (COO)
Abhijit is a Mechanical Engineer from IIT Bombay with an inside perspective of product development & manufacturing for Defence & Enterprise products. He designed & developed multiple machines to solve real-life problems during his student life at IIT Bombay. He has received a National level GYTI award from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam for his innovations. Also he developed India’s low cost 3D Printer & made successful business out of it to start his entrepreneurship journey, developed customized implant from 3D Printing & 3D Scanning technology to cure mandibular cancer efficiently & save life of 2 patients. He also received student of the year award in IIT Bombay in technology & innovation category. He was a lead hardware developer in MIT Media Labs.
During his past experiences, he set up component processing & manufacturing setup for Brahmos Missile at Godrej & Vego bike at TVS Motors. He also has been featured for his innovations & work in leading newspapers and platforms like Times of India, Economic Times, Yourstory, Business outlook, VC Circle, VR Focus, Deccan Chronicle, Hindustan Times, Indian Express. Due to his expertise, he is leading hardware manufacturing, supply chain management, finance, fundraising & operations of AjnaLens.
Pankaj Raut (CEO)
Pankaj is a global thought leader who is regularly invited as a speaker on the future of AR/VR on various platforms. Engineer at heart, he developed Europe’s best 3D scanning system with 45 DSLR cameras & software behind it which can convert photos into 3D models to use for games, 3D printing and digitizing humans. He has been featured in The Guardian, Yahoo News, The Register (UK),Harvard (USA), Ren TV (Russia), IMBC (South Korea) for this work.
He also has business development & sales experience in a few of his past experiences. Due to this expertise, he is leading the vision of the company, business development. Sales & marketing of AjnaLens.