Posted on January 14, 2017  Comments (4)

Harshwardhan Zala, from Gujarat, India has signed an agreement worth Rs. 5 crore (US$733,940) to explore the possibility of commercial production of a drone created by him which can help in detecting and defusing landmines.

Harshwardhan started work on the prototype of the landmine-detecting drone last year after reading in newspapers about high army casualties due to landmines. Aerobotics7 is the company founded by the 14 years old.

Harshwardhan Zala, 14-year-old trends for Rs 5 crore deal at Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017!

[missing video – removed 🙁 ]

The video has Harshwardhan speaking a bit of English but mainly some other language that I don’t understand. If I understand right, his drone is 98% accurate at identifying mines (where the current solutions are 92% accurate – and much more dangerous for those having to walk around testing). His solution is 17 times faster and 22 times cheaper than the current solutions. Once the mine is detected by the drone through an infrared sensor, a 50 gram detonator will complete the task of defusing it (blowing it up).

This video shows a bit of the drone itself (non-English audio)

And here is a short video of Harshwardhan discussing Arduino from 2015 on a channel he helped create, The Kids Edutech (Intelligent Young Makers From India):

Related: The Boy Who Harnesed the Wind – Appropriate Technology: Rats Helping Humans by Detecting Landmines – Using Drones to Deliver Medical Supplies in Roadless Areas – US Fish and Wildlife Service Plans to Use Drones to Drop Vaccine Treats to Save Ferrets – Toyota Develops Thought-controlled Wheelchair (2009) – Make the World Better