Bengaluru drone startup FlyCamp, gives wings to the dreams of students hoping to build a lasting career in the drone industry.
A team of passionate engineers is doing some pioneering work in bringing Drones and allied technology to the masses. They have seen the future and this is their story.
Bengaluru start-up FlyCamp lives and breathes drones. Founder and CEO Devesh K Hegde and his team are working hard to bring drones to schools, businesses, colleges, and even to the elderly. FlyCamp aims to turn drones into an everyday tech that sustains and nurtures unique use cases and solves challenges that people and institutions are facing today. They are doing all this through some unique engineering efforts, training, and sheer innovation.
FlyCamp’s training efforts are primarily focused on FPV racing and freestyle drones. FPV stands for ‘First-person View’ involving the use of FPV goggles through which the video feed from the drone’s camera is streamed in real-time. Pilots fly their drones in FPV at top speeds of 120km/hr or more. These path-breaking drones are custom built from scratch and stand at the forefront of drone technology.
The FlyCamp Drone Experience is a course designed to help participants learn about, build and fly drones. Due to the ongoing pandemic, they introduced FlyFromHome, an online course that saw extensive participation from over 20 cities across 13 states in India within a short period of time. “People are really excited by the potential of drones and their unique ability to contribute to many use cases – some of which are still on the drawing board. The significant number of people who register and complete our courses is a clear sign of where things are headed as far as drones and people are concerned,” Devesh said.
The team also shoots videos for many events from automobiles rallies to carnivals. FPV drones bring a whole new perspective to digital media. If you haven’t seen what FPV videos look like, check them out on FlyCamp’s social media accounts. Each video is slick, free-flowing, and shot with precision. The visuals are proof enough. FlyCamp is a generation ahead in terms of understanding drones and their usage as a creative tool.
FlyCamp also emerged as a community hub for FPV pilots to fly together and conduct sessions for people to come and watch. Their app, ‘The Pilots’ unites the community across geographies. FlyCamp’s drone shows are very engaging and they even train racing and freestyle pilots for many national competitions and races.
Their ‘Train the Trainer’ program is a unique opportunity to become a trainer and work with the team to train students, graduates, and every drone enthusiast out there.
Devesh K Hegde says, “India has the largest youth population in the world and we feel that Indian youngsters being the future of the nation. They need to be aware of this technology and get hands-on experience and see what is the potential because drone industry and drone technology is in its fetus right now and the possibilities are endless.”
Which career do I have to pursue to enter the drone industry?
Drones are being used in almost every field imaginable. From agriculture, engineering, disaster management to videography and armed forces. You don’t have to have a formal career to fly drones. Just practice. On the other hand, if you are planning on building drones, knowledge of 10th-grade math and physics should suffice. You can get a basic understanding of drones through FlyCamp’s courses and easily apply drones to your respective field.
What’s the story behind FlyCamp?
It all started in the mid of 2018 when Devesh K Hegde had just started working as a Research Associate at NMIT, Bangalore. “This was the time when the team got together to work on different drone solutions. During NMIT’s college fest – Anaadyanta ‘19, we got an opportunity to perform a drone show and to conduct a drone workshop. Experiencing the happiness and excitement of the students and teachers we trained during that workshop, we came to realize that we loved teaching and there was much to be done in this field. Hence we worked on putting together a structured syllabus and approached NPS who was very interested in the concept and encouraged us. As a part of the workshop, we had to provide the students with a certificate, and hence we had to launch a company to facilitate this need. We wanted a name that would inspire students and also make them feel happy and comfortable with us – Hence we came up with FlyCamp.”
FlyCamp currently has 7 core team members with a training team of 12. Their passion for drones and everything with wings unites this bunch.
The team as follows :
● Gaurav KP is a designer, developer, and social media head.
● Shrey A is the core developer and leads the research team.
● Supreet Joshi is a techie and acts as the chief advisor.
● Nihal KP is a race pilot and handles the daily operations.
● Prasanna MG is a tinkerer, a freestyle pilot, and a trainer.
● Yashas P is a mechanical & hardware designer, pilot, and trainer.
● Anoop P is a security geek and looks into business development.
