Pushpak Viman
Search-and-rescue UAV and the drone-rover transformation system
One vehicle that drives until the ground runs out and then flies, built for search and rescue in places where GPS does not work and a victim has to be found by heat.
Top 30
Smart India Hackathon 2023
Of 500 teams.
Problem
Search and rescue in a collapsed or GPS-denied environment has two failure modes: the vehicle cannot reach the space, and the victim cannot be seen. Ground robots get blocked; aircraft cannot enter confined spaces or linger.
Thermal and visual detection answers the second problem. The transformation system answers the first.
What I built
A flying search platform, then a vehicle that does not have to choose.
- Raspberry Pi + Pixhawk + MAVROS airframe with OpenCV and thermal imaging for victim detection
- Dataset preparation with TensorFlow Lite and YOLOv5 inference
- Autonomous scan patterns and custom battery management
- Transformation system: four arms carrying both propellers and geared drive wheels
- AI-driven visual and thermal detection for GPS-denied environments
Finding someone who cannot be seen
Search and rescue in a collapsed or GPS-denied space has two failure modes — the vehicle cannot reach it, and the victim cannot be seen. The transformation answers the first; thermal answers the second.
Launch over the search area
Pixhawk and MAVROS on a Raspberry Pi airframe.
Autonomous scan pattern
Can the vehicle reach the space?
Ground is passable — drive on the geared wheelsGround runs out — the same four arms lift it offDetect
OpenCV and thermal imaging, with YOLOv5 via TensorFlow Lite on board.
Thermal signature with visual confirmation — flag itNothing — continue the patternReport position to the rescue team
One vehicle, two modes
The patent filing covers the arrangement: four arms carrying both the propellers and geared drive wheels, so neither mode needs separate hardware.
| Mode | Uses | For |
|---|---|---|
| Rover | Geared drive wheels on the same four arms | Rubble, confined spaces, long dwell time |
| Drone | Propellers on those arms | Obstacles the ground cannot cross, overhead search |
| Both | Visual and thermal detection, GPS-denied operation | Finding a person who cannot be seen |
Limitations and failure modes
- Prototype and competition scope; not validated in a real rescue deployment.
Gallery
Attribution
- Built by me
- The airframe integration, detection pipeline, scan patterns and battery management, and the transformation system described in the patent filing.
- Based on external research
- YOLOv5, TensorFlow Lite, Pixhawk and MAVROS are upstream.
Related
- OpenDroneKit
Offline drone inspection — mission planning, flight, geospatial reconstruction and defect intelligence
- Project MIRA
Autonomous underwater vehicle