New Delhi, Dec 6 (IANS): To develop innovative commercial and industrial solutions using the latest drone technology, global solutions provider Cyient on Wednesday announced the launch of India's first UAV hackathon called "Hackadrone 2018".

Organised by Cyient and China-based tech firm DJI, in sponsorship with Microsoft and the Telangana government, the event is open to developers, start-ups, college students and independent software programmers from across the country.

"We invite developers and technology students across India to participate in Hackadrone 2018 and use this opportunity to develop leading-edge software applications for drone-based platforms," Dr Jan Radtke, Vice President and Head, New Business Accelerator at Cyient, said in a statement.

Participating teams will compete to develop original software applications on the DJI industrial drone platform using DJI's Software Development Kit (SDK).

The industry options include utilities, telecommunications, energy and natural resources, smart cities, navigation, security, transportation and agriculture. Cyient will provide all the necessary support including the drone platforms, mentoring and expert help on SDK to develop the shortlisted ideas.

"Hackadrone 2018" is now open for registration at www.hackadrone.in and the final entries will be selected by January 25.

Cyient will organise a grand finale in Hyderabad between February 5-9.