Meet Sanat Pandit: Ann Arbor sixth-grader’s $300 drone extinguished 18 of 20 test fires

Sanat Pandit, the Ann Arbor sixth-grader whose $300 firefighting drone extinguished 18 of 20 outdoor test fires (Image Credit: Society For Science) A sixth-grader from Ann Arbor, Michigan, has developed a low-cost firefighting drone designed to help tackle one of the most dangerous challenges faced by firefighters: reaching and suppressing fires without putting people directly in harm’s way. Sanat Pandit, a student at Greenhills School, built a $300 unmanned aerial vehicle that uses thermal imaging, sonar and path-planning technology to locate and target hot spots. According to Society for Science, during testing, his drone successfully extinguished 18 of 20 outdoor candle fires and 16 of 20 indoor fires. The Society for Science named Pandit one of 30 finalists in the 2026 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, recognising his project among the country’s leading middle-school STEM innovations.A sixth-grader’s response to wildfire dangerPandit’s interest in developing a firefighting drone was rooted in personal experience. His aunt and cousins lost their home to a wildfire, and the devastating 2025 Los Angeles fires further drew his attention to the challenges of wild...