Trinitonian 18 Autumn Edition 2021

WITS EDITORIAL
KEEPING AN EYE ON THE
VIRUS FROM
THE SKY
To be part of the Covid-19 solution, 21-year-old Wits engineering student, Xolani Radebe,
designed a temperature-reading drone to screen for the virus.
By Refilwe Mabula
The third-year mechanical engineering student
says that the drone, with a built-in thermal
camera, can detect the body temperature of
large groups of people in vast areas such as
malls or other busy places. “High fever has been said
to be one of the symptoms of Covid-19. The drone
is able to detect if anyone in a large gathering has
an above-average temperature and can alert the
drone operator,” says Radebe, adding, “The drone
can save time for those screening large groups of
people in busy areas.”
The drone is a modification of an existing
prototype designed by Radebe and his business
partner, Tino Kurimwi, with whom he co-founded
an aviation company in 2019. Radebe’s love
for aviation and his aspiration to build airplane
engines sparked his interest in drone development.
Designing something that could fly was a step
closer to his aviation career, he says.
Radebe finds solving problems using his
engineering skills gratifying. “Drones are able to
serve multiple purposes, for example, searching
for missing people and to reduce costs of using
aeroplanes.” He is proud that his innovation can
make a positive impact, despite high costs of up
to R23,000 that come with designing a screening
drone. Although costly, he says the drone was not
designed to generate revenue but to contribute to
the fight against Covid-19.
opportunities that I have been afforded in life.
I would not be pursuing engineering had it not
been for the exposure from the Youth Development
Programme at Africa Aerospace and Defence
(AAD),” says Radebe, who currently works out of
the Transnet Matlafatso Centre at Wits, where he is
mentored and nurtured.
The charismatic youngster has encountered hurdles
that threatened his ambitions and led to a mental
breakdown but resolved within himself to not give
up and to try again. Radebe, who refers to himself
as ‘Gogo’s (granny’s) boy’ says that he endured the
pain of failure and repeating some of his modules
because he wanted to make his grandmother proud
– she raised him from the age of 11 after his mother
passed away. Radebe’s company, Rita Sibanyoni
(RS) Aviation, honours his grandmother.
Radebe hopes that RS Aviation will be the biggest
drone company in Africa in future. For Radebe, the
sky is the limit.
Photo: Shivan Parusnath
As someone who benefited from development
programmes, he has a great affinity towards them.
He hopes to use his drones for a community
development programme to help high school
learners who are interested in aviation and
engineering. “Uplifting people in my community
is important to me. I want to give others the same
20 | The Trinitonian