High-tech 'Eye in the Sky' that can locate Maoists

New Delhi, Jun 29 (UNI) While the issue of using armed forces for anti-Maoist operations remains undecided, the Indian Army is already working to develop innovative methods to better its combat potential.

A Major in the Army has come up with a concept called 'Eye in the Sky', a model aircraft, which can be used to spot insurgents' hideouts and movements from a height of more than 350 m. ''The concept can be used at a height of at least 350 m above the ground and even people walking on the land can be spotted,'' the creator of the model, Maj Ashish Talwar, told UNI.

Detailing about the concept, he said the model aircraft has been modified as an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with a camera and Global Positioning Navigation System (GPS) fitted.

''The specialty of this concept is that it can send back geographically referenced video imagery in real-time mode,'' the creator of the model, Maj Ashish Talwar, told UNI.

Pointing out one of the most significant utilities of the model, he said the video feed can be utilised to track any changes in the area like encroachments, damages to fences by comparing with the earlier video records, among others. ''It can also be used by Quick Response Teams (QRT) for aerial search,'' Maj Talwar, who is from Army Air Defence College in Gopalpur in Orissa, said.

Other salient features of the concept include quick launch, recovery capability, position reporting on secured frequency, low cost, ideal for field conditions, conceptual training and awareness of battlefield damage assessment, programmable both in Indian Army Grid Reference and Longitude/Latitude Format.

The Major is showcasing his invention during a two-day-long seminar-cum-exposition on ''Innovation - Marking a difference to the combat potential of Indian Army'' that started today at Headquarters Technical Group, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (EME).

The seminar was inaugurated by Chief of Army Staff Gen V K Singh in presence of senior officers from the Army and civil sector with participation from Defence Public Sector Undertakings, National Innovation Foundation (NIF) and Innovators
from the field Army.

External agencies like Foundation of Innovation and Technology, Transfer (FITT), Department of Science and Technology, SINE IIT, Mumbai, AIMA and Institutions of Engineers also participated in the seminar.