A 14 year old boy named Harshwardhan Zala has signed a MoU (memorandum of understanding) with Gujarat Government at Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, sealing the deal for the production of drones that he has developed. The teen is a Class 10 (High School) student who has designed a drone that can detect and defuse land mines at war zones.
The deal was signed between the 14 year old teen and the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Gujarat. According to a story covered by TOI, Harshwardhan had been working on his business plan and made three prototypes of the drone.
The inspiration struck when I was watching television and learned that a large number of soldiers succumb to injuries sustained due to landmine blasts while defusing them manually,” told Harshwardhan to TOI. His father Pradhyumansinh Zala is an accountant with a plastic company in Naroda while his mother Nishaba Zala is a homemaker.
According to Harshwardhan, he had been working on the prototype of the drone capable of detecting land mines since 2016. He already spent 5 lakh on the three prototypes of the drone in which 2 lakh was invested by his parents and other 3 was granted from the state.
Talking about the drone, the drone has been equipped with infrared, RGB sensor and thermal meter along with a 21-megapixel camera with a mechanical shutter that can take high resolution pictures. The drone covers 8 square meter area and can fly up to two feets above the ground. The drone detects the land mines and report it to the Army Base. It can also carry a bomb weighing 50 gram which can be used to destroy the landmine. Harshwardhan already has a company named ‘Aerobotics’ and has registered for the patent.