EAST LANSING, Mich (WLNS) – Drones are the hottest new tech devices to take the skies and a Michigan State University student hopes to make them safer.
His latest invention just became the first from MSU to make it into one of the biggest inventors competitions in the country.
John Mohyi is a third year law student at Michigan State University.
But for five years now, he’s been working on a new invention that could change transportation technology everywhere.
The drone is unlike any other on the market right now.
Instead of using blades, it uses centrifugal force to shoot into the air.
“I’ve created this kind of counter-vortex geometry,” says Mohyi. “And what that counter-vortex geometry does is it converts that vortex into actual thrusts so it stops the vortex and then directs the airflow downwards so that you can generate lift.”
Within the last year, interest in Mohyi’s bladeless drone has been taking off.
He got an $18,000 grant to put the prototype together, made an appearance on “Intel’s America’s Greatest Makers,” and now, he’s made it as a top 11-finalist into the collegiate inventors competition where the winner gets $100,000.
“I know there’s like the cash prize, but the thing that I’m most excited about is having the opportunity to meet some of these top inventors,” explains Mohyi. “Just those people think very differently and just to be able to get some of their wisdom and feedback on my product and my future endeavors in product development would be something that I greatly appreciate”
And for Mohyi, this is just the beginning of his journey.
With help from MSUu, he hopes to launch a Kickstarter campaign to use the drone to deliver packages and personal transportation.