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Raphael ThysHarshwardhan Zala innovated EAGLE A7 when he was just 12 years old, now, the 7th prototype of his invention is being tested by the CRPF and Indian Army to remotely detect and destroy landmines & other explosives buried in the earth. Helping only the nation didn’t satiate this young innovator’s passion, so, he has now partnered up with PeaceJam and other international organizations to launch a campaign called World Without Landmines with an aim to spread awareness, identify & defuse landmines across the world, and reclaim the land for agricultural and other socially constructive purposes. Through this initiative Harshawardhan hopes to defuse all the landmines in the world by 2025.
Childhood of a Young Genius
“When I was 9 years old, I used to work on several electronics projects. When people hear my story, they think I come from an engineering background or assume my parents professions. But, no. I come from a humble family, my father is an accountant and my mother is a housewife. One summer, I was on the cough and too tired to switch on the fan, so, I built a remote control home automation device. Now, smart phone & homes are common but, back then the device felt like magic to my family and friends. I used to go to Cyber cafes with my grandfather and spend 3 to 4 hours a day - downloading books, pdfs, reading many articles, papers, watching videos, and that’s how I learned about aerodynamics and electronics. At the time, I had worked on 30 to 40 projects, built 7 to 8 robots, and a few drones” said Harshawardhan Zala.
The Spark that Ignited a Vision
“In July 2015, I was doing research and came across a video. I was 12 years old at the time and I didn’t even know what landmines were. It was a demonstrative video where soldiers were detecting the landmines, they were using a metal detector, and suddenly, one landmine exploded, killing many soldiers. As a 12 year old, I was shocked and thought we have so many technological advancements happening, why haven’t we found a solution to this problem yet? I started researching on landmines to understand why it exploded and I found a surprising figure - estimated One hundred and ten million landmines are still active buried in the earth around the globe and it kills around 70 people every single day - that means roughly 1 person is injured every 15 minutes. This figure includes civilians and children. I wanted to contribute what I can to solve this global issue with the help of technology” says Harshawardhan
The Early Start
“I initially started working with robots and simple metal detectors and I noticed two problems - Robot was touching the ground too and putting pressure, and metal detectors couldn’t detect plastic landmines and less metal remnants that’s sometimes used. So, I decided on working with a drone. Building a drone wasn’t the challenge but building one that could lift a good amount of payload was the priority. The main challenge was figuring out the technology to detect and defuse plastic landmines and to make sure no landmines were left undetected. I worked on many technologies and landed on different types of technologies starting with Oscillating waves. I used some of the sensors and drone parts I already had but I didn’t have enough funds to finish the project” said Harshawardhan
How Young Geniuses Hustle
“When I was in 7th or 8th, one of my neighbour who was studying electronics had trouble figuring out a project that I knew the solution to. I offered to help him and figured out a solution. He was so happy that he introduced me to his friends. After that, I mentored many students, helped with many final year engineering projects and made money to build my first prototype. I started building with what I had in handy, completed it September 2015 and presented in different exhibitions all across my home city Ahmedabad” says Harshawardhan.
The Big Achievement & The Snowball Effect
“In Jan 2015, I was invited to one of the engineering fests at a college in Gujarat. There were 350 engineering students presenting their projects, but, I got the first prize and this was my first big achievement. After that I participated in the Maker Fest, this time, I had a team with me. After this, I got invited & shortlisted for a Google-partnered fellowship in San Francisco, US. I got to travel for free, visit big companies like Google, Apple, network with different investors, people and present my invention to them. It was a life changing moment and it started the Snowball Effect. In 2017, after the exhibition of my 5th prototype in Gujarat, the Govt provided me with 2 and a half lakh rupees. The funds were still not enough for building the drone so, I imported parts from Taiwan and China and concentrated on the tech. The govt also signed an MOU stating that the invention was worth 5 crore investment in Gujarat, but, media misunderstood this and thought I received a grant of Rs 5 crore. It was during my 10th boards, I would consonantly get calls from people who want to connect and media. It was a lot” said Harshawardhan.
The Long-awaited Recognition
“I had just woken up on Makara Shankranti, it was 8 AM. There was a big CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) van parked outside and two armed CRPF officers had come inside my house. I was shocked. They took me to their Director General and I gave my presentation to their Tech lead, they were very surprised and impressed. In Jan 2018, I got an invitation from the Prime Minister’s Exhibition Office. At an event, both Indian and Israeli Prime Ministers saw the demonstration and pre-launched the 7th Prototype of the Drone in its 6th stage. In 2020, we demonstrated and signed a contract with CRPF and then, the Army. The device was tested by the Army and we recorded a great accuracy of 91 percent” says Harshawardhan.
Building a World Without Landmines
“My personal intention attached to this project is wanting to help solve the problem on a global scale. So, we signed MOUs with South Korean research institute and some companies in UAE. But, major partnership happened last year in 2021. We partnered with PeaceJam Foundation in the US and under the mentor-ship of the Noble Peace Prize winner Jody Williams, we have launched a campaign called World Without Landmines. The mission is to remove all landmines across the world by 2025 and reclaim and re-imagine the land for agriculture and other purposes which can also contribute in fighting against climate change.” said Harshawardhan.
The Team
Harshwardhan Zala - Founder & Innovator
Jaydeep Rana - Company Head
Urvashi Kikani - Core Technology and Chief R&D Officer
Pranav Gondaliya - Research, Content and Mktg
We, at The Tribal Box, are always trying to find unique, inspirational stories of talent, hard work and pursuit of passion. If you too have such a story to contribute, do write to us on contactus@thetribalbox.com