- Garuda Aerospace develops CK-100 drones to spray disinfectants in public places
- 5 times efficient than manual spraying and cost-effective
- Worldwide Demand increase for Quick Sanitization Drones
- It is my way of giving back and being a part of a bigger cause, says the Innovator Agnishwar Jayaprakash
Garuda Aerospace and their young team and associates have proven that the future of a nation lies within the hands of its youth, as they join the battle against Corona with their splendid innovation ‘CK-100 drones'. In spite of the lockdown there is an upsurge in COVID19 cases, but with Technology Innovations at the Right Moment is becoming the most powerful warrior in this crucial time, as Quick Sanitization Drones (QSD) managed to capture the spotlight in combating coronavirus by spraying disinfectant on buildings, public places, hospitals, etc.
“Corona Killer”, as now popularly known, the QSD’s possess the capacity to cover almost 20 km/day and it is 5 times more efficient than manual sprayers and cost-effective, and got its recognition from the Government of India. Based at Chennai, Garuda not only offering these Quick Sanitization Drones over Tamil Nadu, got orders nationwide including Varanasi, Raipur, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Odisha, etc. Currently, it is operating in 8 states and 26 cities.
Speaking to Machine Maker, Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder of Garuda Aerospace said, “We are incredibly honored to be officially commended, recognized and endorsed by the Government of India. Eventually, we are the first drone company to get permission to travel across the country during COVID19 to provide services. It’s fantastic that the government is supporting start-ups like us and equally we are privileged to help the government in the outbreak of COVID19”.
Inspired Deep Down to Reach Over the Top
The young mind behind the innovation, Agnishwar Jayaprakash, completed his education from Harvard University and Queens University of Charlotte, USA. He is even a former International Swimming Champion and Asian gold medalist. Agnishwar mentions that he received the idea of starting Garuda Aerospace when he was representing India at an international swimming competition as he saw how underwater cameras were extensively used in foreign countries to help swimmers alter their techniques.
In 2016, he founded Garuda Aerospace, a start-up that focuses on designing and building of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or drones for various applications including pesticides spraying, sanitizing, mapping, industrial use, security, delivery, surveillance, etc. It is an ISO 9001 company and has executed several Government orders over the past 4 years.
The CK-100 sanitization drones, currently serving the nation to fight coronavirus has been selected as one of the top 10 socio-economic innovations on October 24th, 2016, presented by the CEO of NITI AAYOG, Amitabh Kant. Apart from Garuda, Mr. Jayaprakash is the Founder of Agni Foundations and Ignite-India.
“With the outbreak of Corona, I had been observing how China was using its agricultural drones to spray disinfectants and I figured my company could do it effectively too. I did more research and along with my team conducted many demos and test runs, which proved to be successful, which was immediately demonstrated to our Health Minister. That was the start, and today we are pioneering a Pan-India project”, says Agnishwar.
However, the development of QSDs was a more personal cause for Agnishwar. COVID19 can affect the functioning of a person’s lungs and he was born with a lung disorder, following which he stated, “my lungs could not function to its fullest capacity and I know how it feels like. It’s the reason I took up swimming also. So, the moment I got to know about the terrible after-effects of COVID19, I just wanted to do everything I could within my power and capacities to deal with the situation. It is my way of giving back and being a part of a bigger cause”.
Know the CORONA KILLER
With the outbreak of COVID19, various innovations came forward to restrict the spread of the virus. Each of them possessed some unique features that differentiated them from one another. But the fleet of CK-100 drone which is used for National Sanitization operations to spray disinfectant has proven to be the most effective till now.
Drone operations are considered to be much faster, operate longer, and a lot safer than manual spraying as health workers can become potential carriers of the virus. Even it has accessibility which enables them to reach heights up to 450 feet and spray disinfectants on the building which is impossible through manual spraying operations.
The strong determination and will power of Agnishwar led them to huge success and with the help of around 300 drones and 500 drone pilots they disinfected around 50,000 acres of area covering public places, educational institutes, etc across 26 cities, within few weeks.
Agnishwar explained that the nozzles of the drone are flexible and it can spray the disinfectants in various directions uniformly which is something other forms of spraying cannot achieve. The speed can be recalibrated according to the purposes and kind of liquids the drone is carrying. They can operate from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and cover more than 70 acres of area/day. He further added that CK-100 consists of patented autopilot Technology, an advanced flight controller system, and equipped with fuel-efficient motors that enables the drone to be deployed for 12 hours a day. It has a payload capacity of 15-20 liters with a flight duration of 40-45 minutes. “Our existing fleet of 300 CK-100 Drones can conduct sanitization operations covering 6,000km every single day”, adds Agnishwar.
The outstanding outcome of the drones not only amazes India but it has attracted the attention of global investors. “Many companies reached out to us to execute similar work in Spain and the UK with 1,000 drones. We also received a special requests from Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand for our services”, says Mr. Jayaprakash.
Collaborating with Young Makers of India
However, Agnishwar informed that they didn’t limit their work up to drones only in fact he along with the engineering students of Agni College of Technology recently developed a ‘Robot Nurse' to deliver medicines and essentials to the isolation ward at hospitals which are occupied by COVID19 patients. Apart from this, they even designed 'VAAYU'- a biofilter chamber recognized by the Bhabha Atomic Centre, which will help in sanitizing individuals at various entry points.
He mentions that for the development of these inventions every raw material has been sourced from India and built by the students of his college. Moreover, he thanked all of them for constantly coming up with such great inventions, as a couple of hospitals have shown interest in using these devices. “We even proposed a Drone-based Swachh Bharat campaign to clean India on a regular basis to prevent the spread of COVID19, while also being prepared for future pandemics and communicable diseases that arise due to unhygienic conditions”, says Agnishwar.
He appreciated the efforts taken by the Government of India to combat COVID19 and requested every citizen to follow the guidelines laid by them. He added, “I would even like to salute all the workers out there, working in the field: risking their lives and doing their part to keep us all safe. They are truly our COVID warriors and I salute their efforts and thank them for their services”.
Agnishwar Jayaprakash is really an inspiring youth leader and we all should appreciate his great determination at this young age. Concluding the discussion he stated, “I know we will get through this together and come out of it stronger and more United, JAI HIND”. For more details, visit www.garudaaerospace.com