JOIN USIt was an aeromodelling competition of sorts, but here were not just miniature aircrafts, but low-cost unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) designed by engineering students and developed for serious reconnaissance missions.
Tuesday, saw students of ten engineering colleges from across India fight it out in the finals of a model unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) competition held at the test range facility of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Kolar, about 100 kms from here.
As in any competition where only one winner is declared to be first, the team from Thapar University in Patiala bagged the first prize. The team from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and the Madras Institute of Technology (Anna University), Chennai were declared the second and third runners up respectively.
The nationwide competition held by the premier defence PSU organisation to motivate college students to exhibit their innovation potential had 270 college teams from all over India submit their preliminary designs. From these DRDO zeroed in on 10 top teams that were selected for a cash award of Rs 50,000 each. A first of its kind initiative by DRDO to offer a big cash prize to winners, the top two winning teams were awarded Rs 3 and Rs 2 lakh respectively.
The winners were judged by a jury led by Prof B Seetaram Bhat from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on parameters that involved flying a pilotless UAV aircraft through remote control at a height of 30 to 50 feet above ground and up to a distance of 100 metres to capture a man sized object and relaying it to a ground visual monitoring system in less than two minutes. Surprisingly, not even one of the engineering colleges from Bangalore,the aerospace hub of the country, qualified for the final selections by DRDO.
Surjit Singh, the team leader from Thapar University said participating in the competition has been a good opportunity for students to showcase their innovative ideas. “The feeling of being recognised for your hardwork and talent is the key for any young scientist” he said.
Recognise innovative talent
Speaking after giving away the prizes, Prof Roddam Narasimha, former director of NAL and currently chairman of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research lauded the winners and described young talent as the future of DRDO. “We should recognise the innovative talent of our youth, but it is not being done in our country. As a result many young and budding scientists of the future look for better prospects on foreign shores” he said.
Dr Prahlada, chief controller (R and D) from DRDO and P S Krishnan, director of Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) were present on the occasion.