Over 60 drone enthusiasts from various parts of the State came together here on Sunday to highlight the increasing importance of drone-based technologies in key sectors.
Inaugurating a workshop on Open drone technology organised by the International Centre for Free and Open Source Software (ICFOSS), IT Secretary M.Sivasankar underlined the presence of a strong drone community in Kerala.
“Creating a community on drone technologies will open up opportunities for local applications. The community supports capacity building and generation of innovative solutions using the technology,” Mr Sivasankar said. Drones, he said, could be applied for critical tasks like delivery of medicines, food and even transportation in the event of natural disasters.
Mr Sivasankar also unveiled the ‘Flying Wing Drone’ developed by ICFOSS. Its design is available on the website of ICFOSS and anyone can adopt and modify it to make their own drone.
The occasion also marked the formal launch of Open Drone Community in the State. Participants in the workshop interacted with each other on various topics, including drone mapping. Researchers at ICFOSS presented their works on Open Drones and allied applications. Drone projects and models were also demonstrated.
There was also a presentation on “Regulatory environment for operation of drone in India” by R.S. Santhosh, Joint General Manager, Air Traffic Management, Airport Authority of India.
The event saw individuals and organisations showcasing their works on drone technology. Dr Jayashankar Prasad, Director, ICFOSS; and Dr Dhayalan R., Asst. Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIST, Thiruvananthapuram, were present on the occasion.
Low-cost drones
The Drone/GIS development team at ICFOSS, engaged in research on 3D modelling and GIS analysis using low- cost drones for the public, has developed two fully functional and working prototypes that are presently used for data acquisition for GIS applications.
Open designs
The models include a Hexacopter and a flying wing, which are capable of fully autonomous flight. The open designs will enable any person to create a flying wing for less than ₹10,000, which can be used with a bundle of free software like Open Drone Map to develop and analyze 3D models.
