Thousands of people around the world face danger as there are over 110+ million active landmines buried worldwide which is a huge risk to many lives and also to the lands. These landmines kill around 26,000 people per year and render thousands of acres of land unusable. World Without Landmines, where young innovators are trying to solve this global issue is an initiative created by Aerobotics7, which has a vision to safely and strategically remove these active landmines, reclaim the land, and reimagine. Pranav Gondaliya who is Head of Research & Avionics at Aerobotics7 is one such young mind who has been working towards this mission.
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Science, technology, AI, etcetera were the things that enticed Pranav Gondaliya since his school days. During that time he met an exceptional young innovator Harshwardhan Zala in the year 2016 for a project called EAGLE A7. From there Pranav got the opportunity to join Aerobotics7 as a part of the founding team. During school time, they worked together on a plethora of projects like drones, robots, VR, and even represented in a lot of events. All the late nights, workings with AI and robots made Pranav even more curious about drone technology, thus, he went on pursuing electronics engineering.
Even while studying, Pranav never stopped practical learning and kept enhancing his skills while working with Aerobotics7. He made several prototypes and showcased them to the industries and governments of the world. Pranav Gondaliya started his journey with Aerobotics7 as a founding member who later got the post of electronics & management intern and eventually became head of research & avionics. Aerobotics7 is working towards the mission of having a world without landmines and for that, they have been not only designing systems around successful integrations and removing landmines but have also tried to raise awareness, educate and reimagine a better world.
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Recently, the team developed an Alpha version of the MVP drone in the US and Pranav gave significant contributions to the flight system of the drone, communication and integration. To make this successful he worked day and night on a remote level. EAGLE A7 V8 Alpha-MVP now holds the capability of autonomously detecting and identifying metallic and non-metallic (plastic) landmines buried under the ground that too in real time without any human intervention. MVP was tested and demonstrated in a Former Airforce Base in Reno-Nevada, USA. With the help of the whole team’s contributions, Aerobotics7 has been honoured with numerous accolades including the ‘Ted Turner Social Change Prize’ at the 18th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Pyeongchang, South Korea. They have also received the Defense Start-up of the Year 2022” (WSRO) Award in Aerospace & Defense at the World Science and Robotics Org Event held at Science City.
While talking about his journey, Pranav Gondaliya shared, “Science and technology hold a power which often surprises mankind. I was always very much intrigued by the wonders it could do and thus I took the decision to get on the journey with Aerobotics7. Today I feel extremely delighted and proud to be on this journey with the team to solve the issue of landmines around the world. Honestly, I would never want it any other way.”
Aerobotics7 under the guidance of people like Pranav Gondaliya has quickly established itself as one of India's fastest-growing drone technology businesses. Now the team’s focus is on entering the international market, especially America. Pranav Gondaliya aims to give his full efforts in finding the problems, advancing the technology and deploying it for the betterment of society. He ultimately desires to make the world a better place to live.
