BIT Mesra’s NCC cadets steal the show at DefExpo

Ranchi: Students of Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, as part of the National Cadet Corps (NCC)-Bihar Jharkhand directorate, presented three tech innovations at the 12th DefExpo in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar.
The innovation — an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and a hand gesture-controlled bot got appreciation from defence experts at the event.
Ex-CMD of BrahMos Sudhir K Mishra said: “I feel proud to see that the NCC cadets have come up with such useful and innovative products at the expo. I am sure their innovation will not only address the defence requirements but will also prove to be useful for social needs.”
Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar said, “I admire the work done by the NCC cadets.” Union minister for tribal affairs Arjun Munda personally spoke to the cadets and appreciated the efforts of BIT Mesra and its NCC wing. “The maiden participation of the NCC cadets at the prestigious expo proved their tech potential to support the vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. The NCC is uniquely positioned to become the interface between military, academia students and research institutes,” said ADG NCC Bihar and Jharkhand Maj Gen Indrabalan.
The UAV, engineered by Somya Garg, a fourth-year student of mechanical engineering and an under officer with the NCC, is a versatile platform, which can be used for tactical missions with remotely controlled cameras. The UAV is a highly economical version and can be easily crafted for training as well for defence purposes. At present, the overall weight of the UAV is 1kg and it can carry a payload of around 0.7kg.
Student of chemical engineering department Harsh Rana has developed the ATV, which is most suitable for last mile connectivity in extremely rugged terrains to deliver ammunition and supplies. It can also be used for patrolling, search and destroy operations. It has features like all-wheel independent suspension and can withstand a free fall of six feet. The ATV is capable of towing vehicles upto 1,500kg.
Jainam Nahar, a second-year electronics and communication engineering student, developed the hand gesture-sensing bot, which can find multifarious military usages without exposure of soldiers to enemy. “I received a lot of compliments from officials of the armed forces for my innovation,” he added.