A drone to make navigation safer

If a fully developed and functional 'quad-quadcopter' was available in 1912 it could've potentially saved the British passenger liner RMS Titanic from sinking into the North Atlantic Ocean.
Although unmanned aerial vehicles, or drone, innovations began in the early 1900s, its life-saving potential was realised only in the late 50s and fully-realised just now. Drones are being applied in health, education, farming and several other verticals to great benefit. However, the use of drones in seafaring, more specifically to guide ships safely from port to port, is still an uncharted territory in drone technology.
Inspired by the lack of drones in maritime and the fact that several ships are still being completely foundered, a group of current and former students from the Emirates Aviation University (EAU) got together to develop a drone that can save trade and passenger ships.
Final year students of Aeronautical Engineering from the EAU, Jaidev Sanketi (20), Sundus Awan (20), Rishika Kaisliwal (21), Srinivasa Raghavan (20) and two former students Suhail Mahmud (22), and Rijo Alex (20) designed what they like to call the 'Ocean Eyes', a 'quad-quadcopter'.
The four-in-one drone was specifically designed to fly over international waters and give the captain and crew a clear vision of what is on the waters nearby. The team was shortlisted in the top 10 of the UAE Drones for Good Award; unfortunately, they didn't make it to the winning list.
The team, however, did garner attention for their uniquely designed quad-quadcopter, which are four drones in one. With the region's busy shipping industry in mind they had to design a drone that could withstand the tough conditions experienced at sea.
"The number of ships facing problems in international waters is alarming," said Sanketi.
"Over 90 ships were completely foundered in 2013," said Kaisliwal. There were 264 piracy attacks in 2013, with 700 per cent increase in some areas. Most commonly attacked ships are cruise oil tankers, bulk carriers and chemical tankers." She added: "A stable, heavy drone that can handle the high winds can protect the ships from impending danger."
"We built the drone from scratch," explained Sanketi. The students have built a platform that lets four quadcopters work together, giving better stability and working as one drone.
Alex said: "The drone can take a payload of up to 1kg and can be fitted with different cameras to suit the conditions. This means a ship's crew can quickly launch and operate the drone, getting a live visual feed of the surrounding waters straight to the bridge."
"This additional information can be used to supplement a vessel's usual positioning and navigation systems, or as an emergency backup. It will also be applicable in pirate prone areas, difficult to dock ports, and rocky or coral seas, or areas populated by marine animals," said Awan.
"We talked to ship engineers and captains and they all said 'yes' this was definitely a system they could have on board," added Sanketi.
The students are still working on the prototype that can help charge the drones using solar panels. "If done correctly, the panels can harness continuous energy into the ships primary batteries."
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE

Dhanusha Gokulan

• dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com