The future of firefighting? Students transform a school chair into a manned DRONE that could allow easier access to fires on upper floors of buildings
Students in Cambodia have designed a prototype manned drone from a rather unexpected piece of furniture - a school chair.
The youngsters at the National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia (NPIC) spent $20,000 (£14,000) transforming the school chair into a drone, equipping it with eight propellers that allow it to fly to heights of around 13.1 feet (four metres).
In the future, the team hopes to improve the design to carry more weight and fly even higher, and believes the drone could even be used by firefighters to access fires on upper floors of buildings one day.
Students in Cambodia have designed a prototype manned drone from a rather unexpected piece of furniture - a school chair
With eight propellers and using a school chair for the pilot's seat, the drone was developed by students at the National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia (NPIC) on the outskirts of the capital
Inspired at first by a desire to beat their city's notorious traffic, the group designed their prototype drone that they hope can eventually be used to ferry people around Phnom Penh and even help fight fires.
With eight propellers and using a school chair for the pilot's seat, the drone was developed by students at the National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia (NPIC) on the outskirts of the capital.
'The drone, when we see it flying without a pilot, there is a lot of shaking but when I sit on it and fly... it becomes more stable and I feel so excited,' said Lonh Vannsith, 21, the pilot of the drone.
'We wanted to solve some problems for our society by making a taxi drone and... inventing drones for firefighters,' he said, noting how, for example, they hoped it could reach the upper floors of a building to bring a hose where a fire truck could not reach.
The prototype can carry a pilot weighing up to 132 pounds (60 kg) and fly for about 10 minutes for a distance of 0.6 miles (1km).
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It took three years of research and development and cost around $20,000 to build.
While the team hopes it will eventually fly far higher, when manned the drone currently only rises to as much as 13.1 feet (four metres).
The project faced delays because of lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic and also as components like the propellers and the frame had to be ordered abroad, said Sarin Sereyvatha, who is NPIC's head of research and development technology.
While the team hopes it will eventually fly far higher, when manned the drone currently only rises to as much as 13.1 feet (four metres)
The prototype can carry a pilot weighing up to 132 pounds (60 kg) and fly for about 10 minutes for a distance of 0.6 miles (1km)
The team plans to improve the design to allow it to take more weight, as well as fly further and more stably at a higher level.
'In principle, if we make one drone, the cost is expensive but if we make them to sell on the market, the cost will go down,' said Sarin Sereyvatha.
The students aren't the only ones working on a small manned drone.
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