Hardware
India enters niche STB global market with indigenously designed CAS system, funded by DeiTY
New Delhi: ByDesign India Pvt Ltd of Bangalore has successfully completed development of Conditional Access System (CAS) for Set Top Boxes (STBs) and enabled India to enter a niche market hitherto dominated by five big global companies.
The Communications and Information Technology Ministry said in a note today that the CAS had been developed under a project funded by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) for promotion of Electronics design and manufacturing in the country.
Prasar Bharati sources told indiantelevision.com that Doordarshan’s free-to-air DTH Freedish has also adopted a version of this design for raising the number of channel slots on the platform from 64 to 112.
The global STB market is estimated to be about 250 Million (25 crore) STBs per annum and the CAS market is expected to be nearly $2 billion ($200 crore) per annum. The projected demand in India for completing the digitization of broadcasting network is nearly 100 Million (10 crore) STBs, thereby signifying an attractive domestic market.
ByDesign India Pvt Ltd, Bangalore, was selected and awarded the task for development and implementation of Indian Conditional Access System (iCASTM) in association with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in November 2014 with technical specifications that were the best in the world.
C-DAC was responsible for design review, code review, monitoring, testing and validation of the entire project. The Development Stage of iCASTM was successfully completed on 14.11.2015 within the specified time.
The developed iCASTM already supports seven Indian Languages and will support fifteen more languages in the near future. The iCASTM has been tested at the Cryptography Verification Labs, accredited by NIST in the United States and has also been widely field tested under Indian conditions.
ByDesign is required to tie up with at least five Operators and install STB with iCASTM in atleast 2,50,000 STBs. The implementation of iCASTM in the cable networks has already started.
More than 25,000 STBs with iCASTM have already been deployed across the country in the last two months, from Haldwani in the North to Madurai in the South and Durgapur in the East to Satara District in the West.
iCASTM exemplifies successful collaboration between industry and Government for R&D and IPR generation in Electronics design and manufacturing. The iCASTM is also beneficial to domestic STB manufacturers because it is available to them at a price of $ 0.5 license for a period of three years as against market price of $ 4 to 5 license for other competing products.
MUMBAI: Addverb has taken a decisive turn on the road to humanoid automation, unveiling its first wheeled humanoid robot, Elixis-W, at LogiMAT India 2026 in Mumbai. Built and manufactured in India, the robot signals the company’s push to make so-called physical AI a practical presence on the factory floor rather than a futuristic concept.
Unlike traditional fixed automation, Elixis-W is designed to move, think and work alongside people in dynamic industrial settings. The robot combines adaptive wheeled mobility with dual arms, each fitted with five-fingered dexterous hands, allowing it to handle tasks that demand precision as well as flexibility.
At its core sits a Physical AI-ready architecture, supported by dual Nvidia Jetson Orin and Thor computing units. This setup is intended to give the robot the ability to perceive, plan and adapt to changing environments, rather than simply follow pre-programmed routines.
According to Addverb CEO and co-founder Sangeet Kumar, the humanoid reflects the company’s long-standing belief in human-robot collaboration. He said the robot is designed to take on repetitive, risky or physically demanding tasks, freeing human workers to focus on higher-value decision-making roles.
Alongside the humanoid, Addverb also showcased two new intralogistics solutions. The Cruiser 360, a four-way pallet shuttle, is aimed at high-density storage environments where space and speed matter. The FlowT, an autonomous forklift, is designed to move materials safely in busy warehouses and factory spaces.
Visitors also saw Trakr, the company’s quadruped robot, navigating the exhibition floor, offering a glimpse of how legged machines could assist in future warehouse and industrial operations.
Addverb, which began as a warehouse automation specialist, has steadily expanded its global footprint across the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia. Its client list includes Reliance, HUL, PepsiCo, Maersk, Mondial Relay and DHL.
With the launch of Elixis-W, the company is steering towards a future where robots are not just bolted to the floor, but rolling, reasoning and working shoulder to shoulder with people on the shopfloor.
