In a breakthrough aimed at making scientific research more accessible and understandable to the wider public, researchers at the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIITH), under the guidance of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), have developed an AI-powered platform named SARAL. The tool simplifies complex research papers into concise video presentations available in 11 Indian languages, making them accessible to students, professionals, and science enthusiasts alike.
The platform is part of a broader initiative to democratise research and make academic content more digestible for non-scientific audiences. Developed by a team led by Prof. Ponnurangam Kumaraguru (Prof. PK), SARAL takes inspiration from tools like Google’s NotebookLM but goes a step further by creating visual presentations rather than just text-based summaries.
How SARAL Works
SARAL’s process is as streamlined as its name suggests:
- Users can upload research papers via LaTeX files, arXiV URLs, or PDF uploads.
- The tool automatically breaks down the content into slide formats based on standard academic sections: Introduction, Methodology, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion.
- Users can edit slide content, incorporate figures, and generate video summaries using AI tools like Gemini, Claude, GPT, and Sarvam’s Text-to-Speech engine.
- Videos can be generated in regional languages with voice customization and are shareable across platforms.
Collaboration with ANRF
The initiative aligns with ANRF’s broader vision to foster research and innovation across India.
Dr. Shivakumar Kalyanaram, CEO of ANRF, highlighted that tools like SARAL will be instrumental in promoting inclusivity in scientific discourse.
“We see the democratisation of research via AI and technology as essential to our mission of enhancing India’s research ecosystem,” he noted.
From Idea to Impact
Prof. PK explained that the idea evolved from discussions around presenting research in more public-friendly formats—ranging from blogs to podcasts. “Eventually, the team zeroed in on automated videos since slides are already widely used in academic presentations,” he said.
The core team behind SARAL includes Dr. Lakshmanan Natraj, Rahul Sundar, Imandi Sai Ganesh, Arihant Rastogi, and Vishnu Sathwik. Their collective effort aims to encourage wider dissemination of scientific knowledge—particularly beneficial for students, early-career researchers, and science communicators.
Scope for Future Development
While the current version offers static slides, the team is working toward animated video outputs and expanding formats to include conference-style posters.
“We received feedback asking for more flexible formats. It’s a technically challenging task, but we’re actively working on it,” said Prof. PK.
A Larger Vision: DemocratiseResearch.in
SARAL is the first tool hosted under the newly created platform democratiseresearch.in. Future offerings may include tools to simplify patents and help bridge the gap between academia and industry.
“Researchers are publishing extensively, but industry access to this knowledge is limited. Our aim is to create a platform that facilitates tech transfer and collaboration,” added Prof. PK.
Also Read: RV University welcomes 2,000 new students at Navodaya 2025, announces new Mysore campus
Community Engagement & Open Access
The platform is open-source and available on GitHub, encouraging collaboration. Science communicators and educators have already begun experimenting with the tool.
Workshops like “Using AI and Social Media for Research,” run by Prof. PK, help researchers understand how to disseminate their work post-publication using digital tools.
To further boost innovation and adoption, the SARAL team is planning hackathons and competitions on the theme of democratising research and invites interested contributors to reach out.
