Workshop on drone technology held at IUST

Awantipora, Aug 16: The Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) in collaboration with e-Yantra of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and CIED-IUST Foundation, organised a one-day workshop on drone technology aimed at exposing students to modern engineering applications.

Professor Kavi Arya, IIT Bombay, addressed the participants highlighting the objectives of e-Yantra, which include building an innovative ecosystem to solve real-world problems, different initiatives like e-Yantra Robotics Competition (eYRC), e-Yantra Innovation Challenge (eYIC), and promoting entrepreneurship.

He also announced that e-Yantra would provide internships to the top 5% of students from Jammu and Kashmir. Over the past decade, 16 teams from IUST have registered with e-Yantra, demonstrating the active engagement and confidence of IUST students in emerging areas of research and entrepreneurship.

Prof. Shakil Ahmad Romshoo, Vice Chancellor congratulated organisers and emphasised the critical role of drone technology in various fields of engineering, especially in earth sciences, agriculture, climate studies and topography. He said that the strategic plan of IUST lays special emphasis on collaborations with institutes of eminence in frontier technologies and for solution driven research for societal wellbeing.

Prof A H Moon, Dean of Academic Affairs, underscored the importance of drone technology and praised the e-Yantra lab at the CSE department as an excellent platform for budding innovators to make valuable contributions to the field. He said that IUST encourages students to register their projects on YUKTI platform to translate their ideas into commercial ventures.

The IUST e-Yantra lab is the first in the country to host drone technology for innovation and entrepreneurship purposes, boasting of technology platforms like SwiftPro, SwiftPro Max, Holybro X500 V2, and Black Hawk Garuda.

Resource persons from e-Yantra IIT Bombay,Smit Kesaria and Venkateshwar who held special sessions that witnessed participation from various departments, centres comprising faculty, professionals, researchers and students. Participants also gained hands-on experience with the drones, exploring their functionalities and understanding their operational dynamics. A live drone flight demonstration was also conducted on the IUST premises.