Michael Poblete’s aptitude for robotics, airplane models, and intricate gadgets immersed him into the world of invention and innovation.
He has won the Sibol Award for college inventors in the National Inventors’ Week in 2006, and in the Aquatic Technology Competition by the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development, an agency of the Department of Science and Technology for his underwater robot named Angel One in 2007.
The Mapua Institute of Technology alumnus is now a budding technopreneur speciallizing in ROVs or remotely operated vehicles.
Angel One now called Roboteknik i100 is an underwater monitoring device that can be used during search and rescue operations.
Following the success of Roboteknik i100, Poblete and his technical team composed of Ivan de Vera, Charles Rico, and Leonard Canoza unveiled the Roboteknik CUSTOS, an “Aerial Reconnaissance Drone” during the recent 2008 National Inventors Week. The unmanned aerial vehicle can perform military reconnaissance or in monitoring uneven spread of fertilizers in huge tracks of farmlands.
The 1.5-meter remote controlled aircraft is fitted with a high resolution CCTV (close circuit television) still and video camera, GPS receiver, onboard computer, and horizon and infrared sensors. “Custos”, is Latin for “guardian”.
A command station can be based inside a van where transmitted data are processed and interpreted.
It can reach a maximum altitude of 5,000 feet for two hours with a range of 10 kilometers from the ground station. Pre-programmed flight plans or more complex dynamic automation system can expand its range, Poblete explained.
Several foreign countries use similar device reportedly in military operations that costs several millions each. But Poblete disclosed that his UAV, which costs P90,000 is yet to be introduced to the Philippine military.
The Aerial Reconnaissance Drone flew away with 3rd prize in the Likha Award for Outstanding Creative Research by DOST’s Technology Application and Promotion Institute during the recent NIW.
