The Ratan Tata Innovation Hub (RTIH), Tirupati, launched an Idea Lab and a Studio Room on Wednesday (June 17, 2026) to promote innovation and entrepreneurship.

Tirupati District Collector S. Venkateswar inaugurated the facility at the RTIH premises, along with Revenue Divisional Officer (Srikalahasti) Bhanuprakash Reddy.

Mr. Venkateswar interacted with several RTIH-supported startups and reviewed a range of technologies in healthcare, infrastructure and other areas.

The innovations shown to him included an AI-powered portable device for diagnosing strabismus, or squint (Squint Sense); an AI-based hand rehabilitation glove for post-stroke and neuro-rehabilitation therapy; a robotic solution for underground drainage monitoring and cleaning (Infra Robot); and a development platform meant to simplify and speed up hardware innovation (UniHub).

In his interaction with Venkata Kamesh, the resource person of the RTIH’s ongoing drone bootcamp, the Collector asked the aspirants to use emerging technologies, including the expanding drone ecosystem, to develop solutions to real-world problems.

RTIH CEO Vijayawanth Mathur said the Idea Lab would support ideation, design thinking, innovation and prototype development for students and startups. The Studio Room would help with podcast production, startup interviews, founder stories and digital content creation, he said.

RTIH incubation head D. Pragathi said it was important to give innovators access to infrastructure and mentorship.