Man builds special drone to save puppy trapped in drain : Watch Video

Man builds special drone to save puppy trapped in drain : Watch Video

Lucknow’s Milind Raj was out for his usual morning walk last month when he heard an animal whimper. The 27-year-old managed to trace the source of the distressed cries to a puppy trapped inside a filthy drain in the middle of the road. He learnt the dog had been stranded there for two days and wondered how he could help rescue it.

Mr Raj, who has a keen interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and builds robots for a living, went to his lab hoping to put together a device to help the pup out. He decided to attach an AI-controlled robotic arm to a giant drone. Both are devices he built in his Lucknow lab.

“The drain was so filthy, it was like a bog,” Mr Raj told NDTV. “It was not possible for a human to rescue the puppy without endangering their own life, so I decided to put technology to the task,” he said. “I decided to use the AI-controlled robotic arm because it has a smart heartbeat sensor. Attached to the drone, I knew it would be risky but may work,” he added.

He returned to the open drain six hours later and sent the improvised aerial vehicle to do its job – controlling the drone carefully from outside.

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“The AI helped me monitor the animal’s heart rate,” he said. “If the grip was too tight, the pup would suffocate.”

It was a challenging exercise, Mr Raj admitted, adding he was careful to ensure the puppy was not distressed during the unusual rescue op.

Once safely on the ground though, the puppy vomited a couple of times. It had likely ingested some of the drain water. “It vomited plastic including paan masala packets that people had carelessly tossed into the drain,” Mr Raj said.

This story has a wonderfully happy ending: Mr Raj revealed he’s adopted the stray dog and named it “Lifted.”