Mike Kronmiller is the creator and owner of Nepal Robotics Project. The international collaborative robotics project aims to develop drones that are capable of locating disaster victims, supporting disaster avoidance, and inspecting vulnerable bridges and aerial lines and cables in Nepal, and worldwide. In 2015 and 2016, his drones were tested at Mount Everest, flying from 1,000 feet above Base Camp to over 19.000 feet above sea level. In 2017, he will test the new system, there, with plans to exceed 23.000 feet in sustained, autonomous flight, carrying an array of sensors.

Solving Problems with Technology

The Nepal Robotics Project stemmed from seemingly simple beginnings. “I started the organization about three years ago. Originally, it was for my high school senior year STEM course,” explains Kronmiller. “We were instructed to solve a problem in the world using technology. I wanted to solve search and recovery issues in avalanche environments with robots.”

As Kronmiller’s project grows, he’s narrowed “robots” down specifically to drones, and has surpassed the level of involvement that many would expect for a senior project assignment. [Read more…]