COIMBATORE: A drone-mounted tear gas launcher to control crowds in law & order situations developed by the Robotics and Automation Engineering department of PSG College of Technology was handed over to the Coimbatore city police on Monday.
City police commissioner V Balakrishnan received it. "The drone-mounted tear gas launcher labelled as Riot Controller is the first time in the state. It can discharge four tear gas shells simultaneously. We can load the shells in two minutes. It has provision to mount a camera or night vision camera which will help us monitor crowd," Balakrishnan told TNIE.
The drone was developed by a team headed by the V Vinodhkumar HoD of the Robotics and Automation Engineering (RAE) Department of PSG College of Technology. "They launched the pilot project in February. The system costs around Rs 10 lakh, " Balakrishnan added.
The drone weighs 30kg, can cover 14 km and rises up to 50 metres. A public address system can also be fitted to it if needed, sources said.