Varuna: Pune defence company creates 'human carrying drone'

A Pune-based defence company on Sunday introduced its technological offering: 'Varuna', an autonomous multi-copter drone, capable of carrying both cargo and human beings.

Pune:A demonstration of a drone with capabilities to carry a human being was carried out by a Defence manufacturing company in Maharashtra's Pune on Sunday. The device, named 'Varuna', is an autonomous multi-copter drone capable of carrying the passenger, as well as other material.

The heavy-duty drone can move goods, including equipment, liquid, and other components using a standardized payload attachment, claimed manufacturers from Sagar Defence Engineering Private Limited (SDE), located in the city's Chakan Industrial Area. "This drone can lift weights up to 130 kg and transfer from a moving ship to another ship. Hence, it will primarily be used by defense forces," informed Mridul Babbar, co-founder of Sagar Defence Engineering.

"Another area of usage will be transporting people. This will be used to assist in medical evacuations in rural areas in case of emergencies. Since the aerial distance is three times lesser than the by-road, precious time can be saved. A one-hour distance will come down to a rough 15 or 20 minutes. In the next three to four years, the drone will be used as an air taxi as well," Babbar added.