College unveils ‘Inspire 2’ drone, pioneers ICT revolution in tertiary institutions

Adeyemi College of Education (ACE), Ondo, has unveiled an unmanned flying aircraft to step up its numerous Information and Communication Technology (ICT) drive and reduce insecurity on campuses.

The Provost, Prof. Olukoya Ogen, while commissioning the drone codenamed, ‘Inspire 2’, said the state-of-the-art equipment would not only enhance security in the college community but the entire Ondo city.

Ogen added that it is one of the yields from the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the International Centre for Information and Technology Development (ICITD), Southern University, Louisiana, USA in November last year in the United States.

“Inspire 2, a state-of-the-art equipment loaded with latest technology is not just an ordinary drone. It is equipped with the latest GPS technology, obstacle avoidance and several sensors, as well as 4G cameras. It is capable of reaching up to 108km/h and can rise to a maximum height of 5000 metres. This will also assist security agencies in their primary duty of providing securing the people.

“Given the state of violence, kidnapping, armed robbery and cult-related activities in the country, the acquisition of this drone is timely and significant. For the record, the college pioneers several ICT revolution and innovations like the e-voting platform, e-procurement and ACE-TV among others.

Prof. Ogen added that the device would help to curb criminal tendencies on the campus, saying, “It is all about making sure that all of us are well secured. “If you are a criminal and you discovered that you are being monitored, what do you do? You move away. Everybody will feel so secured.”

Aside security and surveillance, the provost disclosed that the drone can be used for research, “we can decide to mount it on our research tab and monitor the behaviour of research and everything.

Executive Director of the ICITD, Prof. Victor Mbarika, while delivering the drone to the college, assured that the device would help to survey the entire campus and beyond, making sure students, staff and properties are safe.

“Issue of security is all over the world, even on our US campuses; we have major issues: rapists, drug addicts, students doing what they are not supposed to do, people breaking into our universities.