Mangaluru: The IEEE Signal Processing Society (SPS) Club of NITK Surathkal was declared runners-up in the prestigious Video and Image Processing (VIP) Cup 2025, a global student challenge hosted as part of the IEEE International Conference on Image Processing (ICIP) in Anchorage, Alaska, USA.This year’s challenge required the development of an infrared-visual fusion for enhanced drone detection, tracking, and payload identification in surveillance videos. The competition, organised by the IEEE Signal Processing Society, attracted undergraduate teams from across the world to address a real-world AI problem in drone surveillance. The NITK team was shortlisted among the top four finalists globally, earning an invitation to present their work at ICIP 2025. The students received free registration, sponsored travel, and a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh in recognition of their achievement.The challenge focused on building an AI system to detect, track, and identify payloads in drones from surveillance videos—particularly in privacy-sensitive and high-security zones. The NITK team’s solution integrated inputs from both visible and infrared cameras to overcome limitations posed by adverse weather conditions such as fog and rain. The system also addressed the critical task of identifying malicious drones based on payload analysis.Third-year BTech students Guhan Balaji and Asrith Singampalli from the department of electronics and communication engineering represented NITK Surathkal on the global stage, guided by Deepu Vijayasenan, professor, department of ECE. B Ravi, director of NITK Surathkal, emphasised the significance of student-led research in advancing both the institute’s and India’s standing in global academic and innovation forums.
