Our Kite Aerial Photography Team Mugila Kannu - at Panambur Beach

An ‘eye’ on sky

Sandhya C D’Souza, Mangalore, January 21 2012, DHNS:

(Right to Left) Me (Sanjay), Umesh, Pruthviraj, Jnaradhan Rao, Mohan

The International Kite Festival which kicked off at Panambur beach was a visual treat  and many were seen glaring into the sky with their sunglasses. However, a person who was busy staring into a weird equipment in his hand caught everyone’s attention.

Many started peeping into the equipment and were filled with awe to see a bird’s eye view of the entire Panambur beach.

Prithivraj U, Associate Professor of Applied Mechanics and Hydrolics at NITK has created ‘Mugila Kannu,’ The Eye in the sky, an aerial camera mounted on a kite. This is the first time in India, that such equipment is being mounted on the kite to get an aerial view, he claims.

Explaining his equipment, Prithviraj said that he has mounted a Canon 450 series camera on a kite with a transmitter and the equipment in his hand is a receiver. “The camera records the images, and I can also click pictures. The video is transmitted through a radio frequency of 900 MHz. We can also pan and tilt the camera to get a 360 degree view with a joystick. This is controlled by another radio frequency of 2.4 GHz. I get the display captured by the camera in a small TFT Monitor,” he explains.

Manufacture cost

Prithviraj accompanied by his project staff Sanjay and Mohan have been working on Mugila Kannu for more than six months and the equipment costs Rs 75,000. 

The 12 megapixel camera can record the view of 1.25 kilometers.

“We had visited Mangalore Kite Festival two years back. A person from France had brought a similar equipment and we were fascinated with it. We decided to build a similar equipment by the next Kite Festival. We have got a lot of support from Team Mangalore, especially from its member Janardhan ,” says Prithiviraj. 

Most of the equipment was fabricated at NITK. 

However, some parts had to be imported. “This device can be quiet handy in terms of security. One can simply hoist the camera, if the wind is good and keep watch for hours,” he concludes.

Mangalore: 'Mugila Kannu' - An 'Eye in the Sky' at International Kite Fest

Mangalore: 'Mugila Kannu' - An 'Eye in the Sky' at International Kite Fest Prakash Samaga Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore Mangalore, Jan 22: While everyone was enthusiastically flying their kites in the open sky at Panambur beach during the International Kite Festival on Saturday January 21, Prathviraj Umesh was standing with a TFT-monitored remote controller and was controlling a camera attached to a kite. An assistant professor from the applied mechanics and hydraulics department in NITK, Surathkal, he prepared this unique device which he named ‘Mugila Kannu’ (meaning ‘eye in the sky’) which gives a bird's eye view of the beach on his monitor connected through a wireless signal. Mohan, Janardhan rao, Pruthviraj, Umesh, Un-known and me Sanay at extreme right  Mohan, Janardhan rao, Pruthviraj, Umesh, Un-known and me Sanay at extreme right  Our ground control monitor unit Our rokkaku kite and Camera unit in air Aerial shot aerial shot Aerial Shot Aerial Shot Aerial Shot Aerial Shot Aerial Shot Aerial Shot Aerial Shot Aerial Shot Aerial Shot Aerial Shot Aerial Shot Media Curious !!! Ground Control unit My Professor Rocking with the unit Hats-off to you Sir  It is for the first time in the country that this sort of an aerial camera connected to a kite has been produced. Prathviraj was helped by project heads Sanjay and Mohan as well as Janardhan of ‘Team Mangalore’. There are two devices—one to receive the signals and another to transmit the signals—and the picture is displayed on the TFT screen in the ‘Mugila Kannu’. The device has two different radio signals—one to transmit the image or video taken by the camera and another to pan and tilt the camera for a customized image. The camera fixed in the kite has a resolution of 12 mega pixels which is good enough to give a commanding view from the top. The frequency of the camera is 2.4 GHZ and for video recording it is 900 MHZ. It has a 360 degree view to capture the image. Asked about what influenced him in making this unique device, he said that in the last international kite festival held here, a kite flyer named Nicolas from France had brought such a device and this made him create his own such apparatus to enjoy the kite flying from up in the sky. Prathviraj and his team men took one year to make this device as they did it during their free time. The expenditure was about Rs 75,000 as some of the equipment used is imported. He also has plans to make it available for any security purposes if demanded by the defense department. Prathviraj, however, adds that the cost of each device will come down with mass production and he would make it for a reasonable price as it is not his business but only a hobby.