Soft Materials Research Lab

IIT Bombay was honored to have Dr. Samir V. Kamat, Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development and Chairperson, @DRDO_India as the Chief Guest at Commencement 2026 ceremony. We are thankful for the gracious presence of Dr. @radhakr272, Chairperson, Board of Governors, IIT Bombay. Prof. Shireesh Kedare, Director, IIT Bombay congratulated the students and wished them the best in their journey ahead. Calling IIT Bombay a melting pot of ideas, cultures and talent, he said, "We are concentrating on frontier domains such as AI, sustainability and biomedical technologies so that India can emerge as a global leader in critical technology areas”. In his inspiring address, Dr. Kamat paid tribute to the enduring legacy of Bharat Ratna Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam — architect of India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme and a symbol of what indigenous scientific determination can achieve. Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Trishul and Nag were not merely missiles — they were India's declaration of self-reliance to the world, he said. Dr. Kamat urged the Class of 2025-26 to honour that legacy, not by looking outward for answers, but by building them here, for India, with India. Heartiest congratulations to the Class of 2025-26! #IITBombay #Commencement2026 @EduMinOfIndia

Dr Shubhangi Nema and Prof. Leena Vachhani from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and Abhishek Mathur from IIT Goa, have developed a new software technique that uses fundamental geometry to track surgical tools in 3D without the need for expensive sensors or heavy computing power. Their software can estimate the position and orientation of the surgical instruments using a standard video feed. This cost-effective way to track instruments in 3D can enable better virtual reality training systems and, in future, can significantly reduce the cost of 3D visualisation systems in actual surgeries. iitb.ac.in/research-highligh…