A Bengaluru Aerospace Scientist Built the Made-in-India System That Reads Fog for Pilots

Dr Shubha Venkatesha Iyengar, a distinguished scientist at CSIR‑National Aerospace Laboratories in Bengaluru, led the creation of Drishti, an indigenous runway‑visibility system that helps pilots land safely in fog, rain or dust. The device places a transmitter and receiver about 30 metres apart; a light beam travels between them and the system calculates how much the beam is scattered or absorbed, converting this into a real‑time Runway Visual Range (RVR). Before Drishti, Indian airports relied on costly imported transmissometers that were hard to maintain. Launched around 2014 at Delhi, Kolkata and Lucknow, the home‑grown system meets international standards, costs less and can be serviced locally. By early 2026 it operated at more than 100 civilian and Indian Air Force locations, with Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport becoming the first fully equipped across all runways. The technology gives pilots and air‑traffic controllers precise visibility data, turning a few metres of fog into a manageable variable. Dr Shubha’s four‑decade career earned her the Padma Shri in 2026, underscoring how indigenous engineering can safeguard thousands of flights. Why it matters: reliable, affordable visibility measurement makes every fog‑bound landing safer for passengers and crews.

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This article is AI-generated and fact-gated. Original reporting: The Better India