Now a drone that detects LPG gas leak and delivers emergency medical kits

This is yet again a startup but with a different touch and no, it is not about retail shop. Karnataka-based Maryala Srinivas, who runs a training institute for engineers in Hyderabad, has honed his engineering and entrepreneurial talent and has come up with his own drone manufacturing venture-Carving Notions Technologies- to develop drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for various commercial purposes.

He has developed a range of commercially applicable drones at affordable costs in just two months. Soon after, he raised Rs 15 lakh funding from angel investment network Hyderabad Angels.

Now, the main aim for Srinivas is to sell his drones. As per a news report in the Economic Times, besides developing drones for agriculture purposes, patrolling and aerial imaging, the 34-year-old has developed UAVs for households and hospitals.

There is an E-Nose drone that can detect gas pipeline leakages through embedded LPG sensors, and automatically send alerts. Then Sanjeevani, an air ambulance drone equipped with a emergency medical kit with medicines, a camera and GPS sensor, will fly within minutes to the site. Doctors can also offer real-time advice through the embedded video camera.

"Drones solve the problem of time-lapse. If used in the right sectors, they can definitely be used to the maximum. It is all about pushing boundaries and mixing software and hardware and identifying methods to address a problem efficiently and within the required time frame, through this singular hardware UAV device," Srinivas told ET.

Srinivas now hopes to sell his products to industry players in the coming months.

While retail ecommerce has gathered enough air below its wings, thanks to investors, this particular sector of UAV is yet to flourish. Since the target segment for drones will be more corporate than domestic, it will take some more time to set off.

However, the silver lining lies in the fact that Indian market size for small UAVs, which weigh not more than 50 kilograms, is expected to reach $33.53 million by 2019, according to research firm Marketets and Markets The global small UAV market is expected to register CAGR of 21.70%, said the firm.

(Image: Independent)