The Sky's the Limit
News
Posted: December 10, 2015
HARRISONBURG — When it comes to eradicating land mines, one pair of drones designed by students at James Madison University are a formidable tag-team combo.
The first drone uses a camera to create 3-D models of minefields, a metal detector to locate potential mines and a GPS system to map out its coordinates.
The drone then sends those coordinates to a second drone, which flies to the site above the suspected land mine and drops a 1.2-pound steel ball to detonate it.
At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work — the drones haven’t been field-tested — but students say their concepts could save thousands of lives.
The land-mine detection and disarmament drones were two of six designed by 42 students in JMU’s semester-long Drone Project course this fall. Students in the class, divided into six teams, designed and created attachments for the drones, which were built by a class of students this spring.
Teams presented their drones at a showcase event at JMU’s Lakeview Hall on Wednesday.
Drones exhibited at the event were designed to respond to a variety of global problems, such as delivering medicine to remote areas, tracking streambed erosion, monitoring air pollution and mapping 3-D models of buildings and historic places.
Students in the course came from seven majors and were led by two entrepreneurs from NOVALabs in Reston and four professors at JMU.
Premal Patel, 20, a junior physics major from Harrisonburg on the land-mine disarmament team, said his team’s drone could be used to detonate mines along the Syrian border.
Patel said people often have a misconception that drones only are used to drop bombs or spy on neighbors.
“We want to send a message that drones can be used for good,” he said.
James Madison University Provost Jerry Benson (center) speaks with senior physics majors Landes Sheets (left) and Russell Blair, both of Williamsburg, about a drone they helped build that’s designed to deliver medicine to remote areas. (Photos by Daniel Lin / DN-R)
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A drone designed by JMU students to deliver medicine to remote areas hangs from an exhibit during a presentation to the public at Lakeview Hall on Wednesday.
Visitors examine drones created by JMU students who designed a variety for scientific and humanitarian purposes during a semester-long course. These drones are designed to help track streambed erosion to help save the James spineymussel, a mussel native to the James River watershed.
Contact Ryan Cornell at 574-6286 or rcornell@dnronline.com
