A novel technology developed by scientists of the Madras Institute of Technology (MIT), Anna University, has been deployed as part of security arrangements for the Karthigai Deepam festival in Tiruvannamalai.
Two giant balloons fitted with high-definition surveillance cameras are up in the air at an altitude of 300 feet covering a radius of 1.5 km each. The Tamil Nadu police have roped in the technology for crowd management and other security purposes. The festival attracts a large number of people every year.
According to K. Senthil Kumar, Department of Aerospace Engineering, MIT, the tethered blimp is an unmanned aerial vehicle with camera fitted on a Gimbal. Christened ‘Yatra,’ the technology was developed by a team of researchers that designed ‘Dhaksha’, the UAV that was extensively used by the police for surveillance on many occasions.
“The uniqueness of ‘Yatra’ is not only in its endurance and manoeuvrability but the precision of cameras that can zoom down 40 times and lock a visual by the click of a button in the control room. The vibration-resistant cameras can produce clear still and moving visuals despite the wind velocity and movement of the balloon. The balloon can be in the air for one month,” Dr. Senthil Kumar said.
‘Yatra’ was an initiative of Anna University Vice-Chancellor M. Rajaram, he said and added that Tamil Nadu Additional-Director General of Police (Law and Order) T.K. Rajendran, DIG (Technical Services) M.C. Sarangan and scientists from the National Aerospace Laboratory witnessed a live demonstration in Chennai last week.
For VVIP securityThis technology, the first of its kind, could be deployed for surveillance during VVIP visits, he added.
