Young Prathap Has Built Over 600 Drones From E-Waste, Saved Lives And Won Medals For India
India has no shortage of innovation. From 22-year-olds who are shooting satellites as small as shoeboxes in space to entrepreneurs helping IT people in the country get world-class knowledge with good-paying jobs, we’ve got ’em all.
And today, we came across another genius called Prathap NM from Mandya, Karnataka, who makes drones using e-waste to help people in need.
Getting introduced to drones
He started tinkering with drones when he was 14 years old, and by the age of 16, he built his first drone from scratch that could fly and capture images — all by himself. Prathap’s a BSc grad from JSS College of Arts and Commerce in Mysore.
Building 600 drones from scratch
Also referred to as the ‘Drone Scientist’ he has developed a total of 600 drones all by himself. Moreover, he has also completed six cool projects including Telegraphy in Border Security, Drones for traffic management, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAVs for rescue operations as well as auto-piloted drones. He has also worked on cryptography in drone networking to save them from getting hacked and taken out of control.
When Karnataka was suffering from massive floods, Prathap NM’s drones helped in disaster management by providing medicine and food to people in need.
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Utilising e-waste
One thing he focusses on while making the drones is minimising the generation of e-waste on the planet. He tries to utilise components from broken drones — motors, capacitors and other electronics — looking for parts that can be salvaged and reused. This way he not only keeps the costs to a minimum but also helps in saving the planet.
Instagram: @droneprathap
Accolades and awards
Prathap has been invited to over 87 countries to show his creations to the world. He has been awarded the Albert Einstein Innovation Gold Medal International Drone Expo 2018 held in Hanover in Germany.
He was also awarded gold and silver medal and $10,000 in the International Robotics Exhibition held in Tokyo in 2017. He has also been asked to give lectures at IIT Bombay, and IISc to talk about the application of drone tech in a time-sensitive scenario.
He is currently working on a project with India’s DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) for drone application in critical national projects.
The “Drone Scientist” is a 22-year-old genius named NM Prathap, who is on a mission to save lives with his drones, while preserving the planet by building them with e-waste. So far, he made over 600 drones and has already saved people’s lives during a massive flood incident.
Prathap was only 14 years old when he found his passion for drones. He built his first drone which could fly and capture photos when he was 16 years old. Prathap is a BSc graduate from JSS College of Arts and Commerce in Mysuru. He attended many drone projects such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for rescue operations, Drones for traffic management, and Telegraphy in Border Security. Additionally, he learned about drone networking’s cryptography to prevent them from being hacked.
During the recent devastating floods that attacked North Karnataka, thousands of people were stranded without food and injured. Prathap’s drones helped with disaster management by sending food and medicine to the helpless people.
When Prathap makes drones, he aims at minimizing e-waste by re-using components that he collects from broken drones like motors, capacitors, and other electronics. As a result, he not only lowers the production cost but also saves the planet.
Prathap has been acknowledged for his work and has received invitations to showcase his creations to 87 countries worldwide. In 2017 at the Tokyo International Robotics Exhibition, he won the gold and silver medal, along with $10,000 in cash. Then, in 2018 at the International Drone Expo in Germany, he received the Albert Einstein Innovation Gold Medal.
Recently, IISc and IIT-Bombay invited Prathap to give lectures to talk about drone applications in emergency situations.
Prathap talks about his skills Live on Edex:
I use very little money and a lot of e-waste to make my drones. Whenever I win competitions, I am awarded money, which I save for the future. And as far as e-waste goes, a lot of it is generated, and I get it from electrical shops in Mysuru, Visakhapatnam, Mumbai and a few other cities. For example, if there is a mixer-grinder that is defunct, I can remove the motor and use it in my drone. Similarly, I make use of chips and resistors from broken televisions to build my drones. It doesn’t matter what the prototype looks like. Proving the technical points of the drone is all that matters.
The “Drone Scientist” is currently working with India’s DRDO on a project that uses drones in more intense and critical national projects.
