Tapping India's huge potential by design

Technology is at a point of inflection that can globalise product design, something that tech company Thales CEO Patrice Caine hinted at in a recent interview with ET. India has the right market size and produces qualified manpower to use this to its advantage. Already, technology companies use India as a base for developing new products or improving existing ones. Other industries, from aeronautics to pharmaceuticals, are increasing their product development exposure in step with rising digitisation. But the big moves are ahead, as AI, with its ability to generate ideas and simulate real-world behaviour, makes possibilities for product design endless. India has the world’s largest digitally trained workforce and is uniquely placed to harness this change.

AI is shaping ideas from the initial spark of inspiration to eventual optimisation for the market. It allows designers to sift through vast databases, can generate concept designs based on select criteria such as cost, can test a design for real-world behaviour, and can help optimise choice of materials and production processes. Generative industrial design uses algorithms to generate multiple design options based on criteria such as size, weight and strength. Algorithms further evaluate each option for performance within the range of choices. This cuts product development cycle time and improves quality. The effect on the bottom line is accelerating adoption of generative design.

India has to configure its policy matrix for a quick rollout of AI. Exposure to generative AI needs to be provided from primary to tertiary education. Use of AI must be regulated through legislation and the administrative machinery. India’s product design capabilities would, apart from natural resources and infrastructure, provide another input for manufacturing companies redrawing global supply chains. Design constitutes sizeable value addition in products. Skilling India‘s workforce to transition into the machine-assisted version would give the country’s manufacturing ambition a leg up.