Gun designer hopes to hit the mark

Jayesh Natrajan has a hectic schedule, doubling up as a bike mechanic by day and a BTech student at the College of Engineering Trivandrum (CET) by night. But the 35-year-old still finds time to chase his dream – designing a new gun for the Indian Army.

His day job barely covers the costs of designing a sophisticated weapon, and he lacks a team with the technical expertise to bring his vision to life. Yet, none of that has deterred Jayesh, who recently secured a patent for his design and has already approached the defence forces with his concept.

Jayesh’s journey began during the Kargil conflict between India and Pakistan in 1999, when he was still in high school. The patriotic fervour of that time inspired him to join the military as he watched the heroic exploits of Indian soldiers, many of whom laid down their lives for the country.

But fate had other plans. After his father's death, the then-16-year-old had to shoulder the family's financial responsibilities. He started working as a helper in a scooter workshop and, within a few years, became a skilled mechanic capable of running his own repair shop.

His knack for mastering mechanical devices led him to a job in the Middle East, where he spent nine years in Dubai and Qatar, becoming proficient in welding and fabricating heavy-duty pipes. This stint allowed him to support his family financially, but the yearning for educational qualifications continued to gnaw at him.

Target Identified

Once his family’s situation stabilised, Jayesh returned to India in 2017 and completed a diploma in Mechanical Engineering. It was during this period that his desire to contribute to the military grew, prompting him to research ways to improve the equipment used by soldiers in combat.

Initially, he focused on artillery but soon realised that developing advanced systems was too complex to tackle as an amateur. He then shifted his focus to individual firearms and saw an opportunity to innovate in machine gun design.

“There are twin-barrel guns with twin bullet magazines, but most single-barrel guns have a single magazine. Once it’s emptied, soldiers have to reload, losing precious time in critical moments. So, I wanted to design a single-barrel gun that could accommodate two magazines for quick reloading,” Jayesh explains.

However, research material on this topic was hard to come by. That’s when Alexander Jacob, the then Director General of Police, guided him to the Police Training College library, which had scientific studies on firearms.

“I live near a police station but was scared even to step into its compound. Yet, here I was, walking into a top police facility and mingling with officers who welcomed me warmly,” recalls Jayesh.

Another significant influence was Praveen Raj RS, a senior principal scientist at CSIR’s National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST). Prasanth S, an engineer-turned-patent-law specialist, took care of the legal side of Jayesh’s patent filing.

Jayesh immersed himself in learning everything he could about gun designs, spending countless hours in libraries. By 2019, he had developed a concept and filed for a patent.

But creating a prototype based on his design proved challenging. Jayesh realised he needed support from the defence forces to bring his idea to fruition. Former Union Minister of State V Muraleedharan played a pivotal role by connecting him with defence authorities.

Tough Battle

In 2022, the Army Design Bureau called him to Pune for a detailed presentation. It was a daunting task, as defence establishments are accustomed to dealing with innovators from prestigious institutions like IITs, not self-taught diploma holders. The panel of experts grilled him for hours on every aspect of his design and knowledge of firearms.

“There I was, exhausted and slumped in a chair, as if I had been through a gruelling obstacle course,”says Jayesh. But instead of being discouraged, he became more determined. “One officer, seeing my dishevelled state, casually asked what my future plans were. That question fired me up. I told him I would do whatever it takes to develop this gun because this is my life’s ambition.”

This experience spurred him to pursue a BTech degree, enrolling in CET’s evening batch while managing his scooter workshop in Nagarur on Trivandrum’s outskirts. This left little room for a personal life, and he even resisted family and peer pressure to marry and settle down.

At CET, access to 3D printers enabled him to create a model of his gun design, showcasing its innovative mechanism. He also received guidance from Technopark CEO Sanjeev Nair, an ex-army colonel, and former programme director of the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), which supports innovators contributing to the defence sector.

Patent Obtained

In mid-2024, Jayesh’s efforts bore fruit when he received an Indian patent for his twin-magazine rifle design, which was reported by prominent defence media. Shortly after, he received an official message from the army establishment saying that his design was under evaluation at a regional node in Bangalore.

Whether his proposal will meet the rigorous standards of the defence sector remains uncertain, but Jayesh remains optimistic. He dreams of designing more sophisticated armaments, incorporating artificial intelligence to provide cutting-edge tools for Indian soldiers. His future plans now also include pursuing an MTech degree in aerospace engineering.

The path ahead may be challenging, given the high levels of sophistication and funding required for weapons manufacturing. But Jayesh is determined to soldier on, hopeful of creating a vibrant defence tech ecosystem in Trivandrum.

AI is the new game for media

The impact of generative AI on content writing and consumption is a hot topic, with news media being one area where significant disruption is anticipated. The Wall Street Journal is now experimenting with AI and started posting AI-generated summaries of news articles to offer a capsule version of the content, reports The Verge. The report notes that other media outlets like USA Today have also started similar innovations.  The WSJ assures that an editor verifies the AI-generated content before publication.

In addition to traditional media like newspapers and TV networks, social media is also struggling to attract younger audiences, who, according to some experts, are not being exposed to real-world issues. A University of South Australia academic suggests that using a gaming format may be the key to engaging this demographic. The university plans to develop a game where participants attempt to solve a critical problem faced by hospitals in South Australia: ambulances being blocked at hospital entrances, causing delays in patient care. Dr Ben Stubbs believes such games could offer a more interactive way to engage younger audiences and convey impactful stories.

Drone startup set for a take-off

Battery-powered drones capable of carrying passengers and goods, known as electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles in tech parlance, are inching closer to reality in India. The ePlane Company, a startup founded by IIT Madras aerospace engineering professor Satya Chakravarthy in 2019, has got backing worth 14 million US dollars in a Series B funding round and plans to have a prototype ready by the first half of 2025. Chakravarthy tells TechCrunch that ePlane has secured IPs for developing an intra-city commute and cargo-focused aircraft with a compact wingspan of 8 meters. As Chakravarthy will be among the experts attending the three-day Huddle Global starting on November 28, we hope to hear more updates soon.

People power to train AI

Getting data to train AI models is becoming a growing economic activity, and a startup in Singapore is building an army of data trainers from the public to perform tasks like recording voices and labelling pictures. Anyone with a smartphone – even those who are not tech-savvy – can use the Tictag app to complete these tasks, earning anywhere from several cents to a few dollars each time, reports The Straits Times. Since its release in 2021, the app has gained at least 20,000 users on Android and iOS, with Tictag paying out about 24,000 Singapore dollars so far.

This Granny will chew your ear off

We love this granny, even though she’s a bit phony. Daisy is an AI-generated bot created by British telecom company Virgin Media O2, and she can drivel on for hours. The company says her purpose is to bait cyber fraud conmen who prey on the gullible for money. Unlike human scam baiters who need to sleep and shower occasionally, Daisy can stay on the phone with swindlers all day and night. Virgin Media O2 is adding her bot number to contact lists used by scammers. A YouTube video showcases Daisy in action, and she sounds as sweet as any gran we’ve ever met.