Indian scientist and entrepreneur Drone Pratap gained recognition for creating over 600 drones from electronic waste. He uses these drones for social purposes, like delivering food and relief materials to flood-affected areas. He is the founder and CEO of Dronark Aerospace.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Pratap NM was born on Monday, 15 June 1998 (age 25 years; as of 2023) in Netkal village, Malavalli taluka of Mandya district, Karnataka. His zodiac sign is Gemini. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from JSS College of Arts and Commerce, Mysore. Due to his poor family circumstances, he was unable to study engineering which he had desired to study since his childhood.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 8″
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Family
parents and siblings
His father’s name is Marimaddaiah, who was a farmer. His mother’s name is Savita, who is a housewife.
Religion
He follows Hindu religion.
Drone Pratap performing puja
CASTEISMAND
Pratap is a Kannadiga.
drone scientist
initial conflict
He was born in a family that earned its living from farming. Due to financial constraints, his father wanted him to work in his fields. As a result, he started working on the fields from a young age to fulfill his father’s wishes. In an interview, he had told that he used to feel tired while working there, but seeing the eagles in the sky gave him peace and relaxation. In 10th grade, he saw a drone on TV, which sparked his interest because it reminded him of an eagle. Curious to learn about drones but not having access to a smartphone or the internet, he took up a job as a sweeper in a cyber café. In return the owner allowed him to use the internet for 45 minutes. Once he acquired the knowledge about building a drone, he faced another challenge, which was to organize its components. Lacking money to buy wires, motors, or motherboards, he bought discarded electronic parts at cheap prices from a store that sold used electronic equipment. Since he was learning to make drones, he had to go to Mysore for his further studies. His father gave him money. 8000 when he left home to pay his college fees. When all the money was spent, he started teaching tuition to afford his rent and food. He will invest all his earnings in buying drone parts. Once he was even asked to leave his rented apartment because he could not pay the rent on time. Pratap would sometimes sleep at the bus stand, travel long distances to give tuitions and even skip meals to save money for his project.
path to international fame
After many attempts and experiments in making drones, he got success in the 50th test when one of his drones flew to a height of 1000 meters from the ground. Talking about this in an interview he said,
I didn’t understand aerodynamics or engineering. There was no one there to guide me. Once all my options were exhausted, I used common sense. I made some basic changes like placing the flight controller in the front, maintaining the center of gravity and balancing all the parts of the drone.
His teachers advised him to join innovation competitions across India. At the age of 16, he started his journey by entering his first drone competition at IIT Delhi and winning second prize. After his win, the judges recommended his participation in an exhibition in Japan, for which he had to travel to Chennai to get his drone thesis reviewed by a professor there. When it came time to travel to Japan, he faced financial constraints in purchasing flight tickets. His mother suggested selling her jewelry, but the school helped finance the tickets. His teachers raised money to buy flight tickets and support the project to be presented at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo in 2017. Carrying a drone weighing 300 kg and just two sets of clothes, he arrived at Tokyo International Airport. Due to budget constraints, he opted for a regular train instead of a bullet train to reach the exhibition venue Tokyo Big Sight Inc. With only Rs. With $1500 in hand, he made four trips to get all the drone parts to the exhibition site. When he reached the venue, he saw other students who were very confident and adept at speaking English. He felt nervous around them but tried to keep focused on his goal. On the second day of the exhibition, he demonstrated his model made from electronic waste in seven rounds. After presentations, only 20 teams were selected. Although initially he thought he had failed, his name was included in the list of top 20 teams and he won the gold medal.
Drone Pratap at International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo
In 2018, he participated in the Albert Einstein Innovation Gold Medal International Drone Expo held in Hanover, Germany and achieved his next international award. He earned many accolades, acceptances and invitations from global universities along with several job offers. Despite being offered positions from over 87 countries, he rejected them all and chose to contribute his drone technology to India.
use of drones in india
In 2019, their drone played a vital role in helping thousands of people during floods in southern Karnataka. Using its drone to assess the situation helped the police deliver food and essential relief materials to the affected area.
Pratap using his drone during NDRF project
controversies
Detained for breaking quarantine rules
In July 2020, Bengaluru’s Talgatta police arrested Drone Prathap for not following quarantine orders. When he traveled from Bihar to Hyderabad and then to Bengaluru on July 15, he faced charges of violating quarantine rules. The Bruhat Bengaluru Municipal Corporation (BBMP) had directed him to quarantine for 14 days in Thalaghattapura, Bengaluru, but instead, he went for one. Interview. After the police informed him about the FIR, he switched off his phone and could not be traced. However, the police caught him on July 20.
Contradictory statements about receiving international awards
In 2020, Drone Pratap faced controversy when he had difficulty answering basic aerospace questions in an interview, despite earlier claiming to have won international awards in the field. When he was asked to produce the drones he claimed to have manufactured, he refused. He claimed to have won the gold medal at iRex 2017, but media reports refuted this, with the Japan Robot Association (JARA) stating that no such event took place in 2017. He also claimed to have received the Albert Einstein Innovation Gold Medal at the CEBIT Expo in Hanover. Germany, in 2018. However, reports indicate that there was no such award at the CEBIT summit.
Awards won by Drone Pratap
Additionally, he shared an image with a drone that he said he had built, this was questioned by German drone manufacturer Bilzey, who suggested that he had built the drone, and was posing with it at the Pratap Expo. Was one of the persons photographed.
award
He received the Exceptional Kannadiga Award in 2018.
Drone Prathap receives Exceptional Kannadiga Award 2018
Facts/General Knowledge
- He is also known as Drone Scientist.
- He follows a non-vegetarian diet.
Instagram post about Drone Pratap’s eating habits
- In 2023, he became one of the contestants in season 10 of the reality show Bigg Boss Kannada.
Introducing Drone Prathap as a contestant in Bigg Boss Kannada Season 10
- In an interview, Pratap said that he used his prize money to set up an aerospace lab in Bengaluru, focusing on improving drone technology.
- His parents, relatives and friends did not support him in the beginning of his journey. In an interview, he mentioned that whenever he felt like quitting his job, he would take inspiration from the photograph of former President APJ Abdul Kalam, which he always kept in his wallet.
- He likes to watch English shows Friends and The Ellen Show in his free time.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn