Five reasons why Indians make great tech CEOs

Satya Nadella, Shantanu Narayen, Sanjay K Jha, Rajiv Suri and now Sundar Pichai all share one thing in common. They are of Indian descent and are CEO's of some of the most influential technology companies in the world.

Nadella was made the CEO of Microsoft after heading its Cloud business for years in early 2014, succeeding Steve Ballmer. Narayen was made the CEO of Adobe, the company which is known to make professional software tools like Photoshop and Premier Pro back in 2007. Sanjay K Jha was the guy who was Motorola's CEO, when the company was sold to Google in 2011. After Google, Jha is the CEO of Global Foundries one the largest semiconductor companies in the world. Jha previously was also Qualcomm's Chief Operating Officer. After Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's devices business, Rajiv Suri was named CEO as he was heading NSN, which basically is the new Nokia.

And earlier in the day, Sundar Pichai was announced as Google's new CEO succeeding co-founder and ex-CEO Larry Page as its third CEO. Though this came with a caveat, as Page wasn't relinquishing control of the company he founded. Instead, he founded Alphabet, a parent company for a collection of companies which also now includes Google.

One thing is clear, Indians excel at tech companies. More so than their Chinese counterparts. But why does it happen? Here are five reasons.

#1 English, Vinglish

One has to hand it to the competitive education system and the fact that India was primarily ruled by the British in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, which has resulted in a situation where many schools in the country are English medium. This basically means that from an early age many Indians are well versed in English and speak it fluently and by the time they shift abroad they can combine their tech savvy with good communication skills. If you'd compare senior executives from China, South Korea and Taiwan, they aren't as fluent, hence are unable to communicate properly. Their products may be as good, if not better, if the communication isn't there, then it's a futile cause.

#2 Aspiration

Poverty in India has made Indians incredibly ambitious. Sundar Pichai is a good example. He went to IIT Kharagpur, then managed a scholarship to Stanford University and finally did an MBA from the school of Wharton in the University of Pennsylvania. If you look at Google's Amit Singhal, who's a Google Fellow, SVP and their "Search" engine master, he's always talked about dreaming up the Star Trek computer. He has often said in interviews in the 70's he used to watch the show in a black and white TV while he was growing up in Jhansi. Now, the guy from Jhansi is a celebrated computer scientist and is tasked with the search engine invented by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. In the last 14 years at Google, he's done a pretty good job, many would think!

#3 Understanding emerging markets

Emerging markets are a big target for tech companies as they see them as possible growth avenues and their future cash cows. Therefore, it is prudent to have individuals who understand the problems of countries like India deeply. Gurdeep Singh Pall, at Microsoft, runs the Skype team. He is one of the people to have had the hand in the invention of VOIP technology and now at Microsoft he's heading the team behind Skype Translator. Skype Translator is a tool that will magically translate a conversation between two people over the internet in different languages. His team is building products that will bring the world closer. He's also one of the first senior executives in Silicon Valley of Sikh descent. Sundar Pichai, himself, launched Android One in India, an initiative for high quality affordable smartphones. Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO, was in Kenya while the company launched Windows 10 last month. He announced many initiatives in the poverty stricken country. Executives of Indian descent certainly are able to zero in on the problems of the third world.

#4 Engineers at heart

The most obvious reason for Indians to be targets for senior executive positions at tech companies is that most of them are coders and engineers at heart. Tech companies, like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, appreciate engineers more so than people with business administration and marketing backgrounds. They like people who build things than who sell them. At Microsoft, when the board was looking to succeed Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates was of the view that the company needed someone who was an engineer at heart with the business smarts. Satya Nadella, who was described as the company's "Cloud Master", was the man. Google has done the same thing with Pichai who holds a bachelors degree from IIT Kharagpur, MSc from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania.

#5 Humility at work

It can be argued that CEOs of Indian descent are humbler and, hence are good at rolling back the dice so that they can make amends before a situation spirals out of control. The same can't be said about visionary tech founders like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg or even Steve Ballmer for that matter. Nadella rolled back Microsoft's overtures in mobile, and has put it on a more open path, undoing a lot of edicts that were in place when the company was under Ballmer or Gates. He even apologised immediately after a comment that was deemed sexist. Pichai has united Google unlike any senior executive at the company. In fact, he was brought in to head Android after Any Rubin who founded Android and sold it Google was deemed too confrontational.

Read More

Government to Launch LPG 'SAHAJ' Online Connection Scheme Today

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry today will launch SAHAJ online LPG connections to give more convenience to new LPG consumers.

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan will be launching the facility in the national capital on Sunday.

The facility will be simultaneously launched at Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Patna and Pune.

 All state-run fuel retailers would be joining the e-tail bandwagon with a web-based system for selling new LPG connections.

The new system would be available on the websites of each oil company and the government's LPG portal, Pahal.

This will allow prospective consumers online filling of application form for a new connection.

The system will then automatically detect a dealer best suited for the consumer and email or message a customer ID number within 48 hours of applying.

Read More

Why Nokia 1100 and Nokia 3210 is the greatest phone ever

The Nokia 1100 didn't feel as stiff and tough as the Nokia 3210. But it was a very sturdy phone, even though it's plastic had a soft feel to it. It was a phone designed for developing countries and hence Nokia had used several techniques to make it durable. One of these techniques was the use of rubber keyboard instead plastic keys. The rubber membrane all over the keyboard gave the phone limited protection against dust, sweat and water, which is very important in a country like India. The rubbery part was more resistant to scratches compared to the tough plastic that companies used on other phones. The soft rubbery feel also made the phone feel better in hands. The durability of the phone was amply highlighted in that iconic truck advertisement where the phone was left hanging in front of the vehicle. At the end of the journey, we see the phone survive without a scratch.

It came with a torch

This was a killer feature of the Nokia 1100. In a country like India where power supply was (and is) an issue, the Nokia 1100 was an instant hit owing to its in-built torchlight. As the truck advertisement explained, it was a phone that was supposed to work even at night. "Is mein torch kyon hai," asks the helper. "Kyonki ye raat ko bhi chalta hai," says the driver as he stops his truck to rest at night. Nothing more was needed to be said. Indians were sold out on the Nokia 1100.

It is the bestselling phone of all time

Nokia has sold over 250 million units of the Nokia 1100. This is a huge number. It became ubiquitous in the rural areas of India and in parts of Africa. No wonder then that when Nokia sold its one billionth phone, it was the Nokia 1100. In comparison, around 160 million units of the Nokia 3210 have been sold.

It was made for people who never used a phone earlier

The real reason why Nokia 1100 is the greatest phone ever made is its positioning in the market. It was priced low - less than Rs 5,000 - and it offered people a hassle-free experience. Everything in the phone was tuned to make the first time users comfortable. It had a very easy-to-use interface, allowed people to call by pressing a single key, had an option to change font size, offered battery life that was legendary and came with cool features like the torch. It even offered people some customisation options, if they wished to change the looks of their phone. Best of all, it offered an extremely reliable service. The call quality on this phone was fantastic and typing on its rubbery keys was extremely easy.

By today's standards the Nokia 1100 may look dated - though it is still more durable and offers better battery life than smartphones - but in 2003, the phone was a complete package in a design that was very likeable. No wonder, 12 years later after its launch, it is the best smartphone ever made.

Read More

Why Mahesh Babu feels Telugu cinema can make superstars insecure

It is not often that a hero, who gets the adulation of his fans by the manner in which he reduces 20 goons to pulp on the big screen, talks of that dreaded four letter word called "fear". But Mahesh Babu, much to my surprise, did not flinch from showing a side that one does not quite expect from a superstar.

"Yes, the pressure is immense. It is nerve-racking. In Telugu cinema, the film is sold for the highest price of Rs 70 crore or so, and it rides completely on the star. You have to give a blockbuster. There is no other go," Mahesh told me. I couldn't help but marvel that this much-loved superstar had the courage to talk of extremely fragile emotions like insecurity, without bothering about how he would sound.

"Every actor is insecure. If anyone says he is very calm and confident, he is lying. Every single day I am nervous, thinking about whether I am getting the scenes right, the emotions right. And the worst part is even after the huge success of Srimanthudu, I am back to square one when I start working on my next film Brahmotsavam,'' says Mahesh.

Mahesh was conscious that his last two films had not set the box office on fire, which is why he decided to apologise to his fans for letting them down, at the audio launch function of Srimanthudu. "It was spontaneous. I saw the audience clapping, cheering enthusiastically and I felt that I had disappointed them twice. That is why I said sorry."

But Srimanthudu has left Mahesh and his team in a self-confessed daze. "It is a dream come true. People and critics are saying it is the best film of my career. They have connected to the film in a big way, loved the message." The film revolves around the subject of a billionaire's son returning to his roots and adopting a village. "People want to see Mahesh Babu, the actor, not the star, which explains the success of Srimanthudu," says Mahesh.

Mahesh is now taking the message of the film to the next level by connecting with college students and talking to them to know how they can also stay in touch with their roots.

Mahesh who turned 40 this month, feels he is in a zone - both matured and experienced - that helps him judge better. "It is the best phase to be in."

And the shy star refuses to speculate over what is it about Mahesh Babu that makes female fans go weak in the knees. "It feels good, nothing to be stressed about," he smiles.

Read More

Naidu promises to take AP on top position

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has expressed confidence of taking Andhra Pradesh State to the top position in the country in the next few years.

Addressing the 69th Independence Day celebrations at RK Beach here on Saturday, Naidu said Prime Minister Narender Modi would extend his full cooperation in development of Andrha Pradesh. He also sought the cooperation of all sections of the society for the speedy growth of residuary State.






Naidu said that Andhra Pradesh suffered huge damaged due to bifurcation in a non-scientific manner. He said strenuous efforts were on to recover from damages caused due to division. He said AP's development was not possible without the active support of Central Government. He also stressed on early completion of Polavaram and Pattiseema Projects. He gave full credit to the Centre for merger of seven mandals of Telangana into Andhra Pradesh to facilitate the Polavaram Project.

Naidu also listed out the welfare schemes being implemented by his government. Besides waiving off crop loans worth Rs. 26,000 crore, he said steps have been taken for inter-linking of rivers to turn AP into drought-free State. He also claimed that his government was working hard to eradicate poverty and illiteracy from the State.

Earlier, Naidu took salute of Police Parade. He also distributed medals among the best performing police officials and other government services. State ministers, legislators and top officials also participate in the Independence Day celebrations.

Read More

'Grama Jyothi' is KCR New Drama

Telangana Telugu Desam Party president L. Ramana on Monday alleged that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and his son and minister K Tarakarama Rao were enacting a new drama in the name of 'Grama Jyothi'.

Speaking to media persons here, Ramana said that the new scheme, launched by KCR in Warangal district, was aimed at misleading the farmers. He alleged that KCR was not serious about the welfare of farmers, he said that the Telangana Government has even neglected the families of those who committed suicide. He said that the TDP Government of Andhra Pradesh has raised the ex-gratia amount to Rs. 5 lakh for the families of farmers who committed suicide.

Ramana asked KCR to take practical steps for the farmers' welfare instead of trying to get publicity through programmes like 'Grama Jyothi'.

Read More

Srimanthudu effect: Mahesh Babu donates Rs 2.5 lakhs to a fans!

Mahesh Babu is in cloud nine post the worldwide success of his latest entertainer Srimanthudu. The film not only gave him a much needed hit but has also raked over Rs 100 crore at box office.


And now we hear that, Mahesh Babu, taking a leaf out of Srimanthudu, is indulging in charity work. After the news broke that he is adopting his native village, Burripalem, a little birdie tells us that the actor has now donated Rs 2.5 lakhs to fans family. Apparently, the Telugu superstar’s PA has handed over a cheque of Rs 2.5 lakhs to one his unfortunate fans, who lost his family in an accident when they were on their way to buy a cake for Mahesh’s birthday. Also, an another person, who was injured in the accident, was handed over a cheque of Rs 1 lakh.

Read More

Shakeela, the woman who inspired genres without ever doing porn

It starts with a shrug in her voice. The 38-year-old's first directorial venture, Romantic Target, failed to get attention, leave alone draw reviews. A Telugu gossip site claims the film was released earlier this year in one screen. Regardless, she doesn't take it badly – at least on the surface: "It ran for a week ma. That's fine. Films now run for 2-3 days," she says over the phone from Chennai.


If she'd had her way, the Malayalam Neelakurinji Poothu, not Romantic Target, would've been her first stint as filmmaker. But the 2013 project was shelved on the initial day of the shoot, because producer Jaffar Kanjirappally had insisted that she also act in it. "I wanted Nandita Das, but he insisted. I wouldn't give in, so we dropped it."


Kanjirappally had produced 19 of her films when she was one of the most sought-after actresses in Malayalam cinema. Her films had made him tremendous money, he'd declared, so why not have similar hopes from this one. It wasn't to be.

Today, Shakeela bides her time on the PlayStation and TV. Her autobiography Shakeela: Atmakatha, published in Malayalam in 2013, is being translated into Telugu, Tamil and Kannada. There are no plans for an English version yet, but excerpts crept into a handful of English publications. The story of India's 'softcore superstar', whose repertoire spans 110 films in several languages, had people riveted.

It still does, even in these days of internet porn – which the government sought to ban, then unban after the outcry that came their way. Given the context, one asks her what she makes of the situation. "I didn't even know about this," she exclaims. "But now that you mention it, it's just silly."

Read More

The man sleeping his wife dead body @11 years

Everyone has a different way of dealing with the loss of a loved one, but there comes a time when you have to let go. This man, however, missed that time by about five years.

Le Van from the Quang Nam province, Vietnam, lost his wife in 2003. He believes, though, that she is still with him in many ways. (He means that literally.)

He dug up and dragged her corpse back to his house and dressed it up to look like a human-sized doll that shares a bed with him.

Grief turned into obsession when, for 20 months after his wife's death, Le Van slept upon the ground above her grave.

When he grew tired of the rain, Le Van planned to dig a tunnel from his home to her grave, so he may still lie with her every night but stay dry.

The graveyard tunnel honeymoon turned out to be a bad idea, presumably because of all of the other corpses he would be spending his nights with. In 2004, Le Van just went for it, digging up his wife and returning her to the home she once had with him and their children.

His wife's body is wrapped in flesh-colored paper. Her skull is covered with a clay mold decorated with a poorly drawn depiction of his beloved's face. As of now, nobody has told Le Van he should stop doing this, and he remains very, very single.

Read More

Ravi Teja's Bengal Tiger Nizam Rights Sold Out

Mass Maha Raja Ravi Teja's one more mass action entertainer film Bengal Tiger is in the last stage of its shooting and even before its completion movie business started with Nizam area rights getting sold out. 

As per official sources Global Cinemas group has acquired the distribution rights of Ravi Teja's Bengal Tiger for Nizam area for a whooping price and sources said this is highest price paid in Ravi Teja's filmy career.

Read More

Pawan Kalyan's 'Sardaar' Political Secret

It is known that power star Pawan Kalyan is currently busy with the shaping up of his new movie 'Sardaar Gabbar Singh' and the expectation is sky high on this project. 

But did you know that the maximum part of shooting is planned in Gujarat? Well, there seems to be a political secret behind it. For starters, the iron man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is from Gujarat and hence the title. secondly, Pawan Kalyan is close to PM Narendra Modi and even Modi is also from the state of Gujarat. Thirdly, Pawan has the interest to do films in north backdrop.

He has done 'Khushi' and 'Panjaa' in the same manner. Now, it is heard that he has taken Modi's help and scouted some unique locations for 'Sardaar Gabbar Singh'. The Telugu audience has never been exposed to Gujarat environment so this would be interesting. Final touch is, few scenes will be canned near Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's statues.

Read More

Kajal Agarwal is all set to Marry??

Gorgeous beauty Kajal Agarwal has starred in many films which stood as the blockbusters at the box office. Kajal acted with almost all the top stars of Tollywood film industry.

There were many rumors regarding her marriage. Previously, it was rumored that, Kajal is in a relationship with someone.

The latest update is that, on speaking at an event, this beauty has revealed some interesting facts about her marriage. On digging into the details, it was heard that, Kajal spoke about her marriage as, she would marry as early as possible but, she hadn’t found any perfect guy till now. Actress also revealed that, she is afraid that she can’t act after marriage. Kajal said that, acting is her passion and she will surely act after marriage.

Kajal Agarwal will be seen in the upcoming film such as ‘Brahmotsavam’, which is directed by Srikanth Addala and this film stars Mahesh Babu, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Rakul Preet Singh and Kajal Aggarwal in the lead roles.

Read More

MS Dhoni in Lord Vishnu Image

Trouble seems to be coming for former India Test captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the Karnataka High Court was critical of the cricketer in a case filed against him for allegedly "denigrating" a Hindu god. 

MS Dhoni was, last year, seen on the cover of a business magazine as Lord Vishnu, holding several things, including a shoe in his hands, after which he invited trouble.

Read More

Affair of Star Hero and Anchor ! Who?

Generally, it is very rare for a Silver Screen Actor and Small Screen Anchor to come close together. But, a Star Hero and a popular TV Anchor made this rare combination possible behind the screen.

He is one of the senior Heroes with a playboy image in Tollywood, who has been associated with numerous affairs in the past.

She is an Anchor with much popularity on the Entertainment Channel, who has single-handedly managed a few reality shows.

As per the sources, they both met at a Tollywood event and sparks flew immediately between them. They are spending their quality time with each other and are dating at present.

Read More

Anchor Rashmi : Don’t talk about my Parents

Anchor Rashmi has become the Talk of the Town with the TV show “Jabardasth”.

Recently she interacted with the media and said that many Directors have cheated her during the beginning of her career.

But, Rashmi never spoke about her parents and her personal life till date. There is a rumour that she doesn’t care her parents. So, many claim that she is not interested to reveal anything about them.

However, speaking to a News Daily, Rashmi said, “I don’t want to reveal anything about my parents. I will not mention their names or their profession. They are living in Vishakhapatnam. That’s all. Being a celebrity, people wish to talk more about me. Don’t talk about my parents. Just write about me in the journals. There is no need to talk about my parents”.

Read More

Mobile Data Activate or Deactivate is now easy?

Mobile subscribers will be able to activate or deactivate internet service on their mobile phone by calling or sending an SMS to a new toll free number 1925 from next month onwards.

The new directive from telecom regulator TRAI follows a large number of complaints from customers that mobile operators were keeping the process of deactivation very complex to earn extra revenue.

The directive issued today mandates telecom operators to provide toll free number ‘1925’ from September 1 to activate or deactivate mobile internet service either by making a call on the number and following instruction or by sending a SMS.

Read More

This Movie Collection 9 thousand Crores

Colin Trevorrow directorial film "Jurassic World", which recorded a smashing opening weekend worldwide, has crossed the ₹100 crore mark at the Indian box office.

According to a statement issued by Universal Pictures India, the adventure extravaganza has become the second Hollywood film of the year to earn a whopping ₹100 crore, after "Fast and Furious 7".

The film, which also features Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan, was released in 2,108 screens in India in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages.

"Being the true sequel to 'Jurassic Park', the movie brings a sense of nostalgia for Indian audiences. Moreover, the adventurous theme of the movie can be enjoyed by all age groups together, which has helped in draw family audiences to the theaters. "First 'Fast and Furious 7' and now 'Jurassic World', the summer has shown that India is establishing itself as a big market for Hollywood content," a statement from Universal Pictures India read, according to PTI.

Earlier this year, "Fast and Furious 7" earned more than ₹100 crore from Indian box office.

"#FastAndFurious7 creates HISTORY. Crosses ₹ 100 cr mark in India. Total after Wknd 3: ₹ 104 cr net. GrossBOC: ₹ 146 cr. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER," trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted.

"Jurassic World" has accumulated $1 billion from the worldwide box office, according to Universal. The film is running in its third week, but has still maintained a strong hold at the box office worldwide.

"Jurassic World" features Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Irrfan, Vincent D'Onofrio and Ty Simpkins in key roles

Read More

How to Set Caller Tune on Android Your Mobile Phone Free of Cost

Now forget old tring tring tune, greet your caller with a sweet song without paying single rupee. You can make your callers hear beautiful notes till you attend the call by setting a caller tune. If you are paying charges for subscribing and activating a caller tune then here is one good news for you. Using Wring Android App which is available on Google play store you can set caller tunes without paying money. Wring is a free and revolutionary way to make calling fun. You and your friends can now listen to any exciting music of your choice when making phone calls. Here in this tutorial you will learn How to Activate Caller Tune on your Mobile Phone for Free of Cost using Wring Free Caller Ringtones Android App.

Before going to download Wring app from Google play store let us discuss some extraordinary features of Wring Free Caller Ringtones App.

“Wring” Free Caller Ringtones App Key Features:

• Wring is a free alternative to paid caller tunes.
• No need to pay a monthly fee for caller tunes or pay per minute charges for changing your caller tunes.
• Choose your desired music/song/audio from your playlist and enjoy!
• You can also customize specific tunes for individual contacts or allow the app to set randomized tunes from your playlist for all outgoing calls.
• You can change the tunes as many times as you may like.
• CALL ME TUNE: Treat your friends to something fun while they wait for you to answer the phone.
• CALL U TUNES: The tune you here when you call someone.

How to Set Free Caller Tunes without amount?

Follow the below mentioned easy steps to Activate Caller Tune on your Mobile Phone for Free of Cost.

Read More

How to Make "Drone" at Home Easy Steps

Build Your Own Drone

Made from scratch, a Kestrel takes flight.

Step 1: Age-old aviation question: Speed or loiter capability?

I chose a multi-rotor aircraft over a fixed-wing or helicopter because I wanted to be able to get a static view. Multi-rotor aircraft are also fast, very stable, and able to launch vertically in the tightest of confines—even inside a room and out a window.

Multi-rotors typically use anything from three motor-propeller assemblies to eight, mounted at the end of arms that are centrally interconnected. I chose the “Y6” configuration, composed of three motor-mount arms with two co-axially mounted motor-propeller assemblies at the end of each arm. 

With two motors per thrust point (one facing up as a “tractor,” and one down as a “pusher”), the Y6 has redundancy. Because it has only three arms, it gives a mounted camera a wide field of view. I needed the UAV to be as small and stable as possible. 

Smaller fixed-wing UAVs often fly “squirrelly,” but that’s not true of a well-designed Y6, with its multiple points of thrust stabilized by a high-performance flight control computer.

Step 2: Better be brainy

(The UAV's circuitry and wiring. 

Multi-rotors fly with remarkable speed and stability because they have a number of points of thrust, not just one. Each works against and with other thrust points—and with and against gravity—to move the craft along three axes, and, if needed, hold it steady in one position.

A multi-rotor pitches, rolls, yaws, and hovers by varying the speed of its motors (each connected to a fixed-pitch propeller) individually, which varies thrust (for pitching and rolling) and torque (for yawing). This type of aircraft, however, is inherently unstable unless “balanced” by a very powerful flight control computer, one that can analyze aircraft attitude and position, then provide control inputs (as motor speed rate changes) orders of magnitude faster than a human’s ability. Think of trying to balance a baseball atop the tip of a pencil: You’re not really “balancing” it, but constantly moving the pencil under the baseball in a dance with gravity to get a few brief moments of relative stability. But most people don’t have the eye-hand coordination for such a feat. Similarly, until recently, sensors and computers simply couldn’t work fast enough to use multiple thrust points to control a small aerial vehicle.

Over the past few years, the electronics industry has made great strides in the development of micro-electromechanical systems and inertial measurement units. These include tiny, solid-state, multi-axis gyroscopes for spatial orientation and accelerometers to measure change in velocity to guide multi-rotor and other types of aircraft. Manufacturers also produce micro-electromechanical magnetometers for navigation, and pressure sensors (barometers) for altitude determination.

The UAV body, showing the power distribution block (yellow) and wiring from the block into the arms of the craft.

I settled on a company at the forefront of the technology, Hoverfly Technologies. Their HoverflyPRO control module uses 16 parallel processors in its flight control computer to analyze thousands of inputs per second from the onboard three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer, and digital pressure sensor.

The controller, a printed circuit board that measures just 2.75 by 2.75 inches by 0.5 inch high, takes flight control inputs from a digital receiver (taking commands from a user-controlled transmitter on the ground) and tells the Kestrel to go, stop, and hover.

The board commands the camera to pivot up and down, and side to side, has an altitude-hold function, and overlays vital flight data on live video fed to a ground station—if a video transmission system is mounted to the craft.

I also bought the HoverflyGPS control unit, which, when mated to the PRO board, adds three-dimensional position hold, automatic return-to-home, and waypoint navigation.

Step 3: Flight components, power, and remote control

(Air & Space magazine)

Step 4: Onboard camera and imagery transmitter/receiver system

(Air & Space magazine)

Step 5: Designing, engineering, and constructing the UAV body—with a little help from friends

I could have simply mounted all of the components on a pre-built hobbyist multi-rotor body, but I wanted the final aircraft to be as light and small as possible, very strong, built specifically around my components, and have no parts such as wires or electronic speed controllers (ESCs) dangling in the open.

With the dimensions of all of the components, I used illustration software to sketch out the smallest craft possible.

For construction material, I chose carbon fiber (which I ordered from DragonPlate, in Elbridge, New York). It’s extremely light and strong, although notoriously difficult to cut, and it’s an electrical conductor, so I could not have any exposed wires. Carbon fiber is also excellent at dampening vibrations, important for any flight controller, as vibrations can affect the performance of the accelerometer and gyroscope, not to mention the video. Then came the hard part: I had to engineer each individual piece of the UAV body, but I had no experience in engineering or computer-aided design. Most of the professional CAD programs cost thousands of dollars, far out of my price range. I bought an older version of TurboCAD I found on Amazon for less than $30.

Using exact dimensions of the HoverflyPRO controller, ESCs, motors, and so on, I engineered 29 parts in one month.

A caliper micrometer with one of the extruded carbon fiber parts.

Virtually constructing the body of the craft with TurboCAD, I was able to include folding-forward arms for ease of transport, perfectly align all holes for screws (I wanted everything to be connected mechanically, with no glued parts), and gain a sense of how it would balance with all components mounted—vital for multi-rotors.

With the parts engineered, I needed them milled from the pieces of carbon fiber stock. This turned out to be much more difficult than I imagined. Few machine shops work with carbon fiber, as it “eats” cutting bits. I finally found Jason Sauer of Pinnacle Machining in Fort Collins, Colorado, who agreed to help me.

There is no universal file format for CAD; Sauer was quickly able to redraw the TurboCAD files for the simple parts by hand, but for the more complex pieces, I had to figure out how to convert the files.

The completed UAV, including GoPro camera. The landing skids keep the craft high enough off the ground for a safe launch and landing, and are out of the camera’s field of view. They’re also easily removed for transport.

Stymied, I put an ad on Craigslist, and within 30 minutes heard from Tom Hanson, a machinist-turned-engineer who has his own firm, Hardware Collaborative. He was intrigued by my project (he often donates his time to educational engineering projects), and converted the files in minutes.

With the files completed, Sauer cut all of the parts—to a .0001-inch tolerance—on his three-axis Haas computer numerical-control milling machine.

I then bought an assortment of black anodized hex cap screws from C D Fasteners, and very-hard-to-find black anodized aluminum locking nuts from Fastener Express.

Thanks to Sauer’s skill, the pieces of the craft fit together perfectly. Carefully cutting, soldering, and shrink-tubing (to insulate and protect the soldered wires and connectors), I finished the construction of the Kestrel-6.

Step 6: Moment of truth

Test flying the UAV was the mostfrightening part of the project. As each part was one-of-a-kind, I thought a design error or crash would kill the vehicle—and the entire project. And crash it did, but not catastrophically—just enough to break some propellers.

Then it crashed again, from about 30 feet up. Remarkably, it sustained only minor damage, thanks to the bolted carbon fiber construction and the lack of exposed components.

I was never able to determine what exactly caused the crashes, but it could have been a power brownout. The crashes actually proved to be a good thing, as they demonstrated the Kestrel-6’s resilience.

To ensure that I had the craft configured properly, I took it to Bill Clary of Got Aerial, LLC, based in the Denver, Colorado area. Clary is an aerial videographer and photographer who shoots from a variety of unmanned multi-rotors. Clary fine-tuned the Kestrel-6 and gave me some vital piloting pointers, such as always having a detailed flight plan. (The Kestrel-6 runs out of battery power in about 12 minutes.)

From that point, I was able to fly the Kestrel-6 with continuous real-time video downlink from the GoPro, which I could position wherever I needed (and use to record high-definition video footage).

Although not done in a military setting, these tests—including up-close footage of a spinning wind turbine hundreds of feet high in 20-mph wind—proved the concept: Anyone can create a small, rugged, purpose-built UAV and put it to practical use.

Thanks to the GPS, I was able to “park” the craft and hold it at a chosen altitude, and even have it fly back to its launch point, all while seeing what it was seeing, and easily positioning it for other views—everything I wish I’d had during that terrifying moment just before entering the potential kill zone in Afghanistan.

Note: This Article Collected From : http://www.airspacemag.com/

Read More