Guwahati: Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati’s (IITG) Aeromodelling Club has indigenously developed different types of drones that can be used for surveillance, target identification and tracking, inventory management, delivery and much more.

IIT encourages students to use their creativity, technology, and innovation in aeromodelling through such clubs.

The club has developed various types of drones with the goal of developing smart drones with an easy interface for common people to interact with drones, such as the 'Warehouse Drone' for warehouse management, 'Reaper Drones' for military and law enforcement, 'Ornithopter' based on the design of birds that can be used for surveillance in tight spaces, for wildlife photography, and 'RAVEN,' an indigenously developed VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing).

Aside from these projects, students have also created a drone that can fire at targets with pinpoint accuracy. The firing mechanism is designed to return to its previous position while waiting for the pilot's command to fire again.

Prof. Chivukula Vasudeva Sastri, Department of Chemistry, IIT Guwahati, stated about the club's innovations, " "I have closely observed the students of the Aeromodelling club at work, and the amount of passion and effort they put into developing aerial robots is simply amazing. Their consistently outstanding results in both internal and external competitions speak for themselves."

The Aeromodelling Club, founded in 2013 as an informal group of students interested in aerodynamics and registered as an official club of IIT Guwahati in 2015, has been involved with a variety of events both on and off campus. The club has held training workshops in a variety of fields over the years, including aircraft design, computer vision, and RC aircraft hardware. They have recently secured a seed fund from TIC IIT Guwahati to develop 'Reaper' for commercialization.

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