KACST produces three types of drones

King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) recently produced three types of drones (pilotless planes), the first of their kind in the Kingdom, announced Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Husan, superviser of the National Center for Aviation Technology (NCAT) at KACST.
The air drones, code-named Saqr 2, 3 and 4, are made of carbon and fiberglass and are characterized as light and durable to evade detection of radar and reconnaissance equipment, he explained.
The drones can be programmed from a ground-based control room, he added.
The newly created devices contain automatic control units, as well as logarithms programs, which can deal with and adapt to different wind speeds and temperatures, engine combustion, emergency landing or climb, or deviation from flight path, Al-Husan said.
The drones also contain communication devices and an operation room, where images and videos can be directly passed on to the control room, he noted.
Through the programming mechanism, the drones’ path or targets can be determined, including mountains, farms, waters and valleys, in addition to moving targets such as vehicles, trains or a mass movement of humans.
The superviser highlighted that the drones are automatically operational and programmed in advance. They only need a flight engineer who could monitor the devices and sensors on board from the ground control room.
In case of a malfunction or breakdown, the flight engineer has several options to choose from, including opting for emergency landing or returning the drone to the ground control room, Al-Husan said.
He explored the features of each type of drone in terms of speed, flight durability, weight and load capacity.
The drones will be used in cases of natural or environmental disasters, aerial photography, remote sensing and exploration, agriculture, border control and rescue operations, he pointed out.