Source: UZ unveils drones, solar innovations at expo – herald
Trust Freddy
Zimpapers Correspondent
THE University of Zimbabwe has unveiled a suite of industrial prototypes, including infrastructure-security drones and solar-powered cold-chain transit systems, as the country’s Heritage-Based Education 5.0 philosophy continues to deliver tangible economic and social solutions.
The locally designed technologies, developed by a cohort of nearly 700 final-year students and academic researchers, headlined the university’s high-profile Research, Innovation and Industrialisation Week, which started on Monday and concludes today.
It is running under the theme: “Advancing transdisciplinarity for impact and competitiveness of Zimbabwe’s critical value chains.”
The innovations heavily integrate modern technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and green energy, to directly address pressing national security, agricultural and socio-economic challenges.
Among the flagship inventions is Chisiyamhepo, a high-tech vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone engineered by final-year Aeronautical Engineering student Mitole Jabulani.
The aircraft features a 200km range and dual-use capabilities optimised for both emergency medical logistics and infrastructure surveillance.
“This is a vertical take-off and landing drone for medical delivery,” Jabulani said.
“For medical delivery, it’s specifically anti-venom and blood samples.
“A person in Murehwa could be in need of anti-venom medication from Parirenyatwa (Group of Hospitals), and this drone can be used to deliver it.”
Crucially, Chisiyamhepo links directly to electrical infrastructure to curb the rampant vandalism of public property.
“Another purpose covered is surveillance, targeting specifically transformers,” Jabulani added.
“We are saying the proximity sensor that will be mounted on the transformer, if it senses that there is suspicious activity, it automatically activates the drone.
“It goes to check, and if there is theft, it will be capturing footage and can also send a signal to law enforcement (agents).”
Another final-year student, Sekai Lusewa, unveiled Chizadzamatura, a multi-purpose agricultural drone that consolidates crop inspection, disease diagnosis and localised chemical spraying into a single automated asset.
“Chizadzamatura goes to the crop field, checks out the crop and disease detection, and then goes back to land home,” Lusewa explained.
“From that, all the data recorded on where exactly the diseases were detected — whether it was a specific worm or whatever — is taken.
“Then the farmer is given instructions on exactly what chemical to apply to these spots. The workers on the farm put the chemical into this tank, and the drone goes back to the area to spray.”
On the ground, student researchers debuted clean-energy transport systems designed to alleviate financial burdens on informal traders and fortify rural health networks.
Tanaka Harare, a Level 4.2 Mechanical Engineering student, designed a solar-powered refrigerated vending cart to eliminate the high operational costs incurred by informal fruit and beverage vendors.
“Vendors spend a lot of money buying ice, so I just decided to come up with this cart, which has a mounted refrigerator.
“There will be no need to buy ice; it’s just a once-off cost, and it’s locally available,” Harare said.
Financial assessments conducted during the project revealed that vendors routinely spend up to US$4 daily on ice blocks to preserve inventory, translating to an annual drain of over US$1 400.
Harare’s solar-powered alternative requires a once-off manufacturing cost of US$450, completely wiping out the recurring ice expense and saving small-scale traders over US$1 000 in their first year of operation.
Expanding on this clean-energy framework, students also showcased a solar-electric tricycle equipped with a mounted, solar-powered refrigeration unit.
It is specifically engineered to safely transport vaccines and critical medicines across rugged rural terrains while strictly maintaining the required cold-chain temperatures.
Speaking after touring the exhibition stands, Acting Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Minister Kazembe Kazembe expressed admiration for the student-led initiatives.
“So, it’s quite diverse, you know, from astronomy, from the energy perspective to artificial intelligence-driven systems,” Minister Kazembe said.
“I was quite chuffed; I was quite impressed by what I have seen.
“To say the very least, this is evidence of Education 5.0. It’s one thing that we thought it was a talk show when it was started, but after having toured the exhibition stands here, I am convinced this is the way to Vision 2030.
“I’ve seen Education 5.0 in action. There’s a lot that our students can do in Zimbabwe.
“You know, we look down upon ourselves; we underestimate our capabilities, and this is quite eye-opening. I would like to kindly invite industry to come in and witness what our students are doing.”
UZ Vice Chancellor Professor Paul Mapfumo said the university has accelerated its shift from traditional, theoretical teaching to production-oriented education aligned with the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) and Vision 2030.
“This is more than just reciting the vision,” Prof Mapfumo said.
“We are trying to do that practically to turn our academic capabilities towards creating value to contribute to those national blueprints.”
Prof Mapfumo said cutting-edge technologies like machine learning, AI-powered energy management and environmental engineering are being mainstreamed into local critical value chains.
He also revealed that medical researchers are using Zimbabwe’s rich bio-resources to formulate new human and veterinary pharmaceutical products.
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