Trichy: A startup supported by NIT Trichy has developed an industrial-grade drone for maintenance work on academic and tall administrative buildings on campus. Zerowings Aerospace, a drone manufacturing company founded by NIT-T alumni R Akilan and V Sree Aravinth, designed the drone with a payload capacity of 25 kg.
Drone Specifications
The battery-powered hexacopter, featuring six arms and rotors and weighing 16.5 kg, can reach buildings up to 100 meters tall. A portion of skyscrapers can be accessed from the terrace. The project is backed by the Research and Innovation Hub (R&I Hub) and the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development and Incubation (CEDI) at NIT-Trichy.
Safety and Efficiency
Maintaining high-rise towers and facades often involves workers on scaffolding and safety ropes, posing high risks. The drone eliminates these challenges and speeds up the cleaning process. “It can clean a high-rise tower in eight hours, a task that would take multiple days manually. Backup batteries keep the drone operational. We are approaching airports for maintenance using drones,” said Akilan, the startup founder.
Connected to a tap or tank, the drone uses a deionizer to remove minerals from water, preventing rust. It uses pressurized water to flush a small amount of water at high speed, removing dirt effectively. NIT conducted a trial run at the Orion building to evaluate performance.
Funding and Future Plans
“High-rises are mushrooming across cities. As such technology is a requirement, we will provide seed funding of Rs 25 lakh to the startup,” said K Susil Kumar, CEO of CEDI, NIT Trichy. The drone aims to address the growing need for safe and efficient building maintenance in urban areas.
