Bangladesh-made drone takes flight

 Drone made by Shahjalal university students makes its inaugural flight

  • The drone made by Shahjalal university students on flight

The remote-controlled aircraft, often referred to as a drone, made with local equipment by students of Shahjalal university, took its inaugural flight on Wednesday.

The designers claim the device, which is operated remotely, will be able to reach any place within a relatively short time and is quite noiseless while operating.

Shahjalal University of Science and Technology professor, and prominent writer and columnist, Zafar Iqbal inaugurated the flight at the university campus at 1:20pm.

The drone flew in the air for 50 seconds. During its test-flight on Tuesday, it flew for about 10 minutes.

Project captain Syed Rezwanul Haque was present with two of his group members, Rahat and Robi, during the inaugural flight.

“They tried very hard,” Professor Zafar Iqbal said. “They failed several times – the drone even crashed, but finally they designed something that can fly.”

“There are many meritorious students in Bangladesh. If they can harness their potential complex technology such as this can be made with local equipment,” he said.

He also called upon the government to stand beside and encourage students.

Rezwan had been dreaming of building such a device since his childhood, in April of last year he introduced the idea to Zafar Iqbal and eventually resulted in his dream being realised.

The students were said to have designed the drone for the Bangladeshi Army, however it can be used for other purposes.

“Our model does not require a runway for landing or lift-off,” Rezwan said. “You can make it fly just by throwing it in the air. The device can send information before the possibility of it being destroyed.”

Source: Dhaka Tribune