This archive report was first published on 16 November 2019.
On November 16, 2019, a remarkable innovation emerged from Thika's Makadara Estate, where a 25-year-old man developed a military robot capable of detecting landmines and gathering intelligence 300 meters away.
The robot, designed to resemble a toy vehicle, can be controlled using a remote or a computer program and features a memory card chip for recording information.
Once it detects a landmine within its range, the robot produces an alarm sound, signaling security personnel of imminent danger.
The innovator, Brian Kimani, has dedicated years to researching and developing this technology.
Kimani, a part-time tutor at Safaricom's M-pesa Foundation in Thika, studied Diploma in Information Technology at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and later pursued Engineering on Circuit at Thika Technical College.
He believes his innovations, if embraced, could improve security, streamline public transport, and increase efficiency in daily operations.
Kimani plans to sell the technology to the Kenya Defence Forces and other security organs as a security solution.
He has called for support to access expensive hardware to improve his technologies, which he believes will have a bigger impact on society.
