BENGALURU: Drones delivering goods ordered online and being used to photograph exotic locations which are inaccessible to humans are already well known. How about a drone-based fire extinguisher that can reach any spot without the hassles faced by fire tenders or firemen?A Bengaluru-based aerospace firm — Poeir Jets — is developing heavy-lift hybrid drones for the purpose, which has already attracted the attention of a Spanish firm, Drone Hopper, for mass production.
Speaking to TNIE, Devathathan Mookiaha, director of Poeir Jets, said that the ‘Urban Firefighting Hopper’ is designed to restrain fires, especially in high-rise buildings. “The drone uses six micro-jet engines — developed by Poeir — to carry either extinguishing foam or water to douse flames,” he said.
The hopper is among the four heavy-lift drones being developed by the firm. “For the ‘Firefighting Hopper’, one-third of the research grant is being provided by the Department of Science and Technology,” he said.
Mookiaha and the firm’s co-founder Sridhar Balaram have been developing heavy-lift drones for the past three years and were the first company in the country to develop micro-jets. These micro-jets are being used for drones developed by the company.
Poeir Jets has also launched three heavy-lift drones during the ongoing 12th Aero India. While its Turbo Shaft MTS 30 will be able to carry weights of up to 200 kg when fully developed, Hybrid Drone DJE 30 has a capacity to carry weights of up to 75 kg for more than two hours.