Development of Mobile (Quadruped)/Handheld Device/System for Real-Time Detection of Narcotics and Explosives across Indian Railways.

Background

Indian Railways is one of the largest rail networks in the world, serving millions of passengers daily across thousands of stations, platforms, and train coaches. Ensuring the safety and security of passengers and railway assets is a critical responsibility of the Railway Protection Force (RPF).Drug trafficking through railway networks and threats arising from explosives and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) have emerged as major security concerns. During the year 2025, RPF recovered narcotic substances worth approximately Rs. 300 Crores in more than 2100 instances.However, as per data of Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB), nearly 15-20% of drug trafficking is routed through the railway network. Similarly, recent incidents involving use of high explosives such as RDX on railway tracks highlight the vulnerability of railway infrastructure to hostile activities.At present, Indian Railways does not possess any dedicated mobile quadruped or handheld system for real-time field detection of narcotics and explosives. This severely limits the capability of RPF personnel to conduct rapid, non-intrusive screening at station entry points, platforms, inside train coaches, and during luggage or parcel screening operations. Therefore, there is an urgent requirement for a modern, technology-driven, ruggedised, and easy-to-operate detection system suitable for Indian Railways operational conditions.

Description

The proposed problem statement envisages development of an AI-enabled Mobile (Quadruped) Device/System and Handheld Device/System for real-time detection of narcotics and explosives across Indian Railways.The Mobile (Quadruped) Device/System should function as an intelligent robotic surveillance platform capable of operating in hazardous, complex, and GPS-denied environments. The system should support autonomous or semi-autonomous navigation using LiDAR-based mapping, sensor fusion, thermal and optical imaging systems, and real-time video surveillance. It should be capable of operating in dusty, humid, high-temperature, low-light, and uneven railway environments including ballast areas, yards, tunnels, platforms, and coaches.The quadruped system should support underframe inspection of coaches/wagons, yard surveillance, night patrolling, bomb detection assistance, narcotics detection, facial recognition and matching, and inspection of luggage and concealed areas inside train coaches. The system should also support secure wireless communication, onboard data logging, real-time transmission to control centres, obstacle detection and avoidance, fail-safe mechanisms, and long-duration deployment capability.The Handheld Device/System should be lightweight, ruggedised, easy to operate, and deployable by RPF personnel with minimal training. It should support offline and online operation, encrypted data storage, real-time alerts, GPS tagging, automatic event logging, multilingual interface, and integration with centralized monitoring systems. The device should enable non-intrusive screening crowded railway environments and support wireless transmission of alerts and threat information to control rooms or designated supervisors. Both systems should be capable of detecting a broad spectrum of narcotics including heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, cannabis derivatives, opium derivatives, semi-synthetic and synthetic narcotics, as well as explosives including RDX, TNT, PETN, TATP, C4, dynamite, ammonium nitrate compounds, gunpowder, and pyrotechnics.

Expected Solution

A cost-effective, ruggedised, Al-enabled Mobile (Quadruped) Device/System and Handheld Device/System should be developed for real-time detection of narcotics and explosives across Indian Railways.The proposed solution should support rapid, non-intrusive, and real-time detection capability at railway stations, platforms, train coaches, luggage screening points, yards, and other vulnerable railway locations. The system should provide automated alerts through sound, visual indicators, vibration, and centralized monitoring dashboards along with timestamp and GPS-based event logging.The quadruped system should support autonomous patrolling, under-carriage inspection, thermal imaging, facial recognition, bomb detection support, and surveillance operations in hazardous or inaccessible areas. The handheld system should support quick deployment, easy usability, offline data storage, synchronization after network restoration, multilingual operation, and integration with Railway security infrastructure. The overall solution should be operationally sustainable, low-maintenance, scalable for largescale deployment, and suitable for continuous deployment under diverse Indian Railways operational and climatic conditions.