KOCHI:The HackForTomorrow, Hackathon event that was held as part of the Excel-2018 fest of the Govt Model Engineering College saw a lot of youngsters taking part and vying with each other by developing innovative but socially useful products. One such product developed by Makersdome Aerolabes flew away with the first prize.
The product developed by a group of three was a drone that would help in tackling problems that arise when a natural calamity strikes. According to Sayanth K S, whenever a natural calamity strikes the biggest problem that is faced by the administration is the outbreak of an epidemic.
“A lot of lives are lost and also the entire civic system comes to a halt. The rotting carcasses of the animals and the sewage from the destroyed drains turn into a breeding ground for deadly microbes. These microbes contaminate water bodies and this, in turn, lead to an outbreak of communicable diseases among the survivors,” he said. The startup aims to help the authorities prevent such an outbreak with the help of their drone.
“We have fitted the drone with apparatus that can carry disinfectants. The drone can be used to spray the disinfectant on the water bodies aerially. This will ensure that a large area is covered and even the remotest place can be covered,” he said.
Sayanth and his friends Athulkrishna and Jithin launched Makersdome Aerolabes around six months ago with an initial investment of Rs one lakh. “Both me and Athul have completed our courses, while Jithin is still a student,” said Sayanth. The drone that won them the first prize cost Rs 20,000.
“The fund for the drone came from our pockets,” he said. The group is planning to develop the second prototype of the drone soon and hope to present it before the Kerala Startup Mission. “Our aim is to bring the usefulness of our drone before the government,” said Sayanth.
Meanwhile, they are coming up with an innovative advertising drone very soon. “The drone will be fitted with led display boards that will showcase the product of the company. The drone will be a crowd-interactive one. That is it will move in a crowd instead of being a stationary one. However, it won’t cause inconvenience to the people. Nobody will be injured,” he said.