3 Idiots drone to be inducted into Assam Police

BY Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, Oct 1: The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), that awed viewers in the Bollywood hit ‘3 Idiots’, may soon be inducted in the State police force for surveillance and logistic support during counter-insurgency operations.

Almost all the paramilitary forces, besides the Indian Air Force, and police forces of Maharashtra, West Begal etc are using the indigenously built drone, titled Netra (eye).

A trial was conducted today during the Assam Police day celebrations at the 4th APBn parade ground.

“We are conducting a trial today. We will see how it takes the pictures of today’s function, the resolution radius etc,” DGP Khagen Sarma said.

It was developed by Ideaforge Technology Pvt Ltd, a company floated by a group of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Mumbai alumni, and the Pune-based Research and Development Establishment (Engineers) laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

DRDO, after watching the 2009 Aamir Khan-starrer ‘3 Idiots’, tied up with IdeaForge to refine the Netra.

It is designed specifically for anti-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations in forested areas. It can be used in hostage situations like the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, border infiltration monitoring, local law enforcement operations, search and rescue operations, disaster magement and aerial photography.

Netra is light-weight (1.5 kg) and portable, constructed using carbon fibre composites, allowing a user to carry the system along with the control station to field locations. Each unit costs around Rs.15-20 lakh. It can fly in a radius of 4 km at an altitude of around 400 metres.