Students from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur have developed a drone with the use of indigenous hardware and software.
Somesh Kumar, professor at the Department of Mathematics, under whose mentorship the students developed the drones, said that the drones would be able to take autonomous flights, track and contact other robots and drones, besides being able to function in places which are GPS-disabled.
The project is under the umbrella of the Aerial Robotics Kharagpur (ARK) of IIT-K, one of many initiatives at the Institute designed to give students experience in research in their area of interest.
The drones are being developed at the Centre for Excellence in Robotics (CER) which receives funding by IIT-K through the Centre for Excellence in Robotics (SRIC).
The total amount of funding IIT has granted to SRIC is close to Rs 5 crore. This would help run 12 student projects at the CER.
Under ARK, students hope to work on a network of flexible aerial robotics which can have multiple uses such as assistance in search and rescue operations, controlling aerial vehicles, etc., says Kumar.
Source: The Indian Express