It is designed to support researchers through different stages of scientific discovery, not just retrieve information or generate text.
Hyderabad:Two students from BITS Pilani’s Hyderabad campus have developed an artificial intelligence platform to help scientists understand complex research problems, explore existing literature and plan experiments. The technology has been evaluated by researchers at ETH Zurich, Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Toronto.
The platform, called Research Copilot, is being developed by NovAtom Labs, a student‑led deeptech startup founded by Arnav Kulshreshtha and Sattwik Das. It is designed to support researchers through different stages of scientific discovery, not just retrieve information or generate text.
The system helps synthesise literature, identify parameters and constraints, learn from previous results and explore possible directions for investigation. In India, it has been demonstrated at the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL), Mohali, where NovAtom Labs is collaborating on semiconductor research. Researchers at BITS Pilani Hyderabad have also explored its use in materials science, biology and engineering.
The workflow covers understanding a research problem, reviewing knowledge, identifying promising directions, conducting experiments or simulations and using results to decide next steps.
The founders said their long‑term ambition was to develop scientific infrastructure in India. “We aim to develop self‑driving research laboratories in India. This will help create a research environment where AI systems can work alongside scientists to analyse knowledge, design and prioritise experiments, learn from outcomes and continuously determine the next direction for research,” Arnav said.
The technology could find applications in semiconductors, materials science, chemistry, biology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, energy and advanced manufacturing.
