As the Independence Day parade marched away and the felicitation speeches were kicking in the boredom among the children gathered at Nehru Maidan, here on Thursday, three mini unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) flew in from nowhere, turning up not only the heads, but also the spirits. One of the UAVs — a mini helicopter — showered flower petals on the National Flag at the maidan.
Two of the UAVs — fitted with still and video cameras for aerial shooting — were flown here for the first time by A. Krishnamohan of Zoom Cam Works, Bangalore.
Bitten by curiosity, the children and the grown-ups, alike, swarmed to Mr. Krishnamohan, when they found out that he was the remote pilot manoeuvring the UAVs. Repeated pleas from the public address system to give him more space to fly were lost in the din.
The mini helicopter was flown by Ratnakar Nayak of Indian Aero Modelling Association, Karkala. He had flown it at the madian last year, too. Mr. Krishnamohan said that the two UAVs took video of the event at the maidan for about four minutes. One vehicle had a 150g camera and the other had a 900g camera that could capture the surroundings.
He said that the smaller UAV with a camera weighing between 150g and 200g could be flown up to 17 minutes; and the bigger one with a heavy camera, which could weigh up to 3.5 kg, could be flown up to 12 minutes.
Mr. Krishnamohan said that he could not fly them for more than four minutes because of the crowd around him.
He said that his UAVs were used for aerial photography for real estate developers, advertisement agencies and other corporate houses. Vibration-free aerial photography and videography could be possible from them, he said.
“The UAVs help in taking unconventional angles, for example top down view of a building,” he said. They were used for low altitude photography and videography, he said.
Passion
Mr. Krishnamohan (37) said he quit a German investment bank in 2009 to float his own firm. “I have passion for flying and photography,” he said. Mr. Krishnamohan said that his contact with Mr. Nayak brought him to Mangalore this time.
