JKUAT designs first surveillance vehicle

 A team of four students from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) have designed what may be the country’s first all-terrain surveillance vehicle.

Mechanical engineers Allan Ombugu and John Kiiru, and mechatronic engineers Charlton Omondi and Christopher Bartonjo presented the prototype at the 7th JKUAT TechExpo, which was held at the university between November 3 and 4.

The machine, named ‘The Rockerbogie Surveillance System’, was one of the eye-catching displays. It is a high mobility vehicle which can be controlled remotely via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, through an Android app. Each of the wheels is individually driven by a geared motor for traction achievement. The whole system is powered by a rechargeable battery.

A camera is mounted at the front, which streams live images or videos to a remote monitor as it manoeuvres its area of surveillance. It took the team close to seven months to do the mechanical design and a further three months to get the communications and control systems working. Materials were mostly sourced from the university workshops.

 According to the project designers, this is hopefully a big step for Kenya, which they see as dynamic in its adoption of advanced technologies. “Practically, the project would have a lot of applications in rough terrains, but we are primarily focused on ground surveillance,” says Charlton Omondi.

“From this point, the next step is to explore the possibility of partnerships with the military or security firms and other stakeholders who would share in the thrill of seeing this through every step of the way.”