T.N. drone to take part in Uttarakhand search operation

MIT team in Guptkashi to launch ‘Daksha,’ to trace missing persons

July 06, 2013 11:29 pm | Updated December 04, 2021 11:18 pm IST - CHENNAI:

'DAKSHA,' the unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Dr.  Senthil Kumar of the Madras Institute of Technology, Chennai

'DAKSHA,' the unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Dr. Senthil Kumar of the Madras Institute of Technology, Chennai

As the fate of several hundreds of people remains unknown in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Saturday decided to deploy drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to locate missing persons.

Senthil Kumar of the Madras Institute of Technology (MIT), Chennai, and his team of research scholars reached Guptkashi to launch ‘Daksha,’ the indigenously developed drone, to trace persons probably trapped in inaccessible terrain.

Fitted with thermal and high definition cameras, the drone was on a trial sortie for a few hours. Fresh rains slowed down the process during the early hours, Dr. Senthil Kumar told The Hindu over the phone.

On seeing reports in the media that many persons were still missing in Uttarakhand and that rescue workers were unable to access certain pockets, Dr. Kumar met Tamil Nadu Director-General of Police K. Ramanujam and offered to launch drones in the search operation. In coordination with the NDRF officials, the Tamil Nadu Police and Anna University facilitated the team to visit the flood-affected areas.

“In the event of any person being alive in the debris or a pile of bodies, the thermal camera can sense temperature variation and track his/her location. High quality visuals of inaccessible terrain will be captured by the HD camera,” he said.

Rain hampers operation

Though the NDRF officials were planning to take the team to Kedarnath and its adjoining towns, inclement weather conditions prevented helicopter movement during the day. When reports last came in, the team was heading towards a valley some 100 km away from Guptkashi in Army trucks.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.