A university student builds his own drone

Suvik Roy holding the drone. Photo: Star

Suvik Roy, from Chunkuri village in Khulna's Dacope upazila, has long been inquisitive. From a young age and inspired by Hollywood movies, he has dreamt of building his own drone. Now the fourth-year information and communication engineering student at Pabna Science and Technology University has done just that. The result of two years' active effort with the help of his university supervisor Professor Imran Hossain, Suvik's homemade drone recently took to the sky above a nearby college field to complete its inaugural test flight.

“Originally I wanted to build the drone just for fun,” recalls Suvik. “But after I was admitted at the university, I came to understand that drones can be used for many purposes. We live near the Sundarbans, an area affected by cyclones and river erosion. Drones can be used to deliver medicines and disaster relief.”

When Suvik first shared his ambition with his teachers and classmates, however, they were not at all encouraging. They rather forbade Suvik from proceeding, telling him to concentrate on his academic studies instead. But Suvik was determined.

“I saw that students at many institutions do make drones,” he says. “For me it was a challenge to complete the project because our family isn't rich. I was able to borrow Tk 38,000 from family members and use whatever supplies I could manage from different hardware stores.”

Suvik's drone is controlled remotely using the open source Ground Control System. He hopes it will have an operational range of 1.5 kilometres from the controller. The drone, which weighs two kilograms, will be further designed for weather resistance, enabling it to carry up to three kilograms of cargo safely to the desired destination, relying on Google Maps for navigation.

Drones can also have environmental application in assisting with the measurement of various gases in the air, along with temperature and humidity. They are also engaged in security work, with the addition of face-recognition technology often used to effectively monitor secure areas and detect the presence of strangers.

“There are many possibilities for the drone,” says Professor Hossain. “With added technology and development, the drone could do many things. It is really an amazing achievement that Suvik built one. His project is one that government and non-government organisations could consider supporting, due to the drone's potential to contribute to the nation.”