Drone Prathap (Bigg Boss Kannada 10) Age, Girlfriend, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Drone Prathap

• Drone Prathap is an Indian scientist and businessman who is known for building over 600 drones by using e-waste and using them for social causes like providing food and relief materials to areas affected by floods. He is the founder and CEO of Dronark Aerospace.

• He was born into an agricultural family in Netkal village in Malavalli taluka of Mandya district in Karnataka. His family was not financially strong and his father wanted Prathap to work on their farms. He started working on the farms at a young age to fulfil his father’s wish.

• In an interview, he said that he used to feel very tired working there, but after seeing the eagles fly high in the sky, he felt relaxed.

• One day in class 10, he saw a drone on television, immediately reminding him of eagles. He wanted to make a drone for himself but to gain information about it, he did not have a smartphone or access to the internet. He started working as a sweeper in a cyber cafe in exchange for which the owner would allow him to use the internet for 45 minutes.

• After gaining basic knowledge about how to make a drone, another problem he faced was the arrangement of its parts. He did not have the money to buy wires, a motor or a motherboard so, he decided to buy electronic waste parts at cheap prices from an electronic appliances store.

• While he was still learning how to make a drone, he had to shift to Mysuru to pursue his graduation. When he left home for studies, his father gave him Rs. 8000 which he used to pay for his college fees and later, he started giving tuition to pay for his rent and food.

• He used to spend all his salary on purchasing parts of drones. He was once asked to move out of his rented apartment after he failed to pay the rent on time. Pratap started to sleep at bus stands, walk for many kilometres to give tuition and skip meals to save money to fund his projects.

• He made many drones and after 50 trials and experiments, one of his drones flew 1000 meters from the ground. In an interview, he talked about his attempts and said,
  

  I did not understand aerodynamics or engineering. No one was even there to guide me. Once I exhausted all my options, I used common sense. I made a couple of basic changes like putting the flight controller in front, maintaining the centre of gravity and striking a balance between all the drone parts.”

• His professors guided him to participate in innovation competitions across India.

• His journey began when he was 16 and took his first drone to a Drone model competition at IIT Delhi where he won second prize. After winning, the judges suggested he participate in an exhibition held in Japan.

• When he decided to participate in the International Robotic Exhibition held in Japan, he went to Chennai prior to that so that he could get his thesis on the drone checked by a professor in Chennai.

• When it was time to go to Japan, he did not have money to buy the flight tickets. His mother offered to sell her jewellery and buy the tickets, but his college came forward to fund the tickets. His teachers contributed money to buy the flight tickets and help in the project that was to be presented at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo in 2017.

• He took drones weighing 300 kilos and two pairs of clothing with him. After he landed at the Tokyo International Airport, he took the normal train instead of the bullet train to reach the Tokyo Big Sight Convention Center, where the exhibition was to be held because he had only Rs. 1500 with him. It took him four rounds to the exhibition venue to bring all the parts of the drones.

• In an interview, he shared how he felt when he reached there and said that the other students came with their parents or professors, seemed very confident and spoke fluent English. Prathap felt really nervous, but he was focused on his goal.

• On the second day of the exhibition, he presented his model made out of electronic waste in seven rounds. After the presentation, only 20 teams were selected. He thought that he had failed but his name was announced in the list of 20 teams, winning a gold medal.
  

  Drone Prathap at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo

• In 2018, he participated in the International Drone Expo held in Hanover, Germany, and won the Albert Einstein Innovation Gold Medal.

• He received a lot of accolades, recognitions, and invitations from international universities and received many employment opportunities. He has been to 87 different countries for his work and delivered lectures about using drones in situations that need quick action. He denied job offers from more than 87 countries and decided to serve India.

• In 2019, his drones helped thousands of people who were stuck in floods in the southern part of Karnataka. He used his drones to reach the location and see the situation, which helped the police a lot in sending food and other relief materials.
  

  Drone Prathap using his drone during an NDRF’s rescue operation

• In 2023, he appeared as a contestant on the reality TV show Bigg Boss Kannada Season 10 reality show.
  

  Drone Prathap in Bigg Boss Kannada season 10

• Prathap has used the prize money he won at the International Robotic Exhibition to make an aerospace lab in Bengaluru where he worked on finding ways to make better-quality drones.
  

  Drone Prathap making drones in his lab

• He wanted to pursue engineering, but his family could not afford the fees due to which he had to pursue a BSc.

• He went against his parents, relatives, and friends to pursue his dream because they did not support him initially. In an interview, he said that whenever he felt like giving up, he used to look at the picture of former President APJ Abdul Kalam which he always kept in his wallet.

• His favourite English shows are F.R.I.E.N.D.S and The Ellen Show.