Pune College Students Engineer GPS-Free Drone, Win Rs 10 Lakh at ISRO Challenge

Pune, 27th August 2025: A team of engineering students from PICT has made the city proud by securing first place in the national-level ISRO Drone Challenge, beating 510 teams from across India, including participants from IITs and NITs.

The competition, organised by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), challenged participants to design an autonomous drone capable of operating in GPS-denied environments—simulating Mars-like conditions where traditional navigation systems fail. Teams were required to build a drone that could scan terrain, identify safe landing zones, and land autonomously on each spot.

The PICT team, called Galactic Gearheads, devised an innovative approach to tackle this complex problem. Using a Raspberry Pi connected to a wide-angle camera, the drone ran optical flow algorithms to estimate its x–y coordinates. A 1D LiDAR was used to determine altitude, while a 2D LiDAR mounted on a servo enabled a 110° by 160° sweep to create a detailed depth map of the surface. This effectively converted a 2D LiDAR into a 3D mapping system. Computer vision techniques and gradient analysis were then applied to identify safe landing zones.

“This project pushed us to work across multiple domains—from flight control systems and drone assembly to MAVLink communication and core maneuvering algorithms. One of the toughest tasks was constructing a 9×12-meter Mars-like arena within our college and testing the drone under varied scenarios and edge cases.”

The win earned the PICT team a first prize and ₹10 lakh from ISRO, along with recognition that opens doors for internships and real-world space robotics applications.

The achievement was made possible with the guidance and support of the PICT Robotics Council, management trustees R.S. Kothavale and Swastik Sirsikar, Director Dr. Prahlad T. Kulkarni, and Principal Dr. Sanjay T. Gandhe. Mentorship from Prof. S.V. Gaikwad also played a pivotal role in guiding the students through the technical challenges.

The Galactic Gearheads team comprises: Aryan Shukla, Toshit Warke, Bhavika Panpalia, Atharva Joshi, Dhawal Talele, Nandini Deshmukh, Kaushal Chaudhari, Hrushikesh Patwardhan, and Nimish Satav (Team Lead).

This triumph not only showcases PICT’s commitment to fostering innovation but also demonstrates India’s growing capabilities in space robotics and autonomous systems.