CASR director Dr K Senthil Kumar, who received the award from the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, told DT Next that the lab-to-field research contribution by team “Dhaksha” — comprising S Thamarai Selvi, C U Hari and Dr Mohamed Rasheed – is a rarity in the country, especially from universities. 

“These UAVs are being eyed for peaceful purposes and boosting the economy of nation,” he added. 

According to Senthil Kumar, the UAVs are already used by government agencies including Special Task Force of Tamil Nadu police, and the police force in other states including Kerala and West Bengal. Among the more recent advancements is the tethered UAVs, which is connected to a cable from the ground to provide the required power for running electrical motors. 

“In the real defence scenario, a tethered UAV can be used to enhance communication range of tele-commands and telemetry signals in difficult terrains,” he said. 

These were recently deployed for security at Dr APJ Abdul Kalam memorial at Rameswaram during a visit by the prime minister. The Centre has been implementing a UAV design and development programme with Rs 20 crore funding from Tamil Nadu Innovation Initiatives scheme under the State Planning Commission for societal application. 

“This is the first university in the country that has developed the indigenously designed UAV for societal application,” Senthil Kumar said. 

The recently designed UAV-Anjas, which was officially unveiled by the Chief Minister, can be used by civilian law enforcement agencies and revenue authorities for security, surveillance, detection and crowd monitoring from one single control station, he added.