This hovercraft is able to take on all kinds of weather and all kinds of surfaces – all thanks to the ability to manually change the pressure of the balloon floats outside, meaning bumps, slopes and even mounds of snow pose no problem.

According to Sergey Italyantsev, director general of Aks shipbuilding company, the hovercraft is used for sea patrol, transportation around oil rigs and by coastal units – and not only in Russia.

“We’ve had sales in Finland, Norway, Africa and India – so geographically the demand is quite wide. What makes our hovercraft different is the skirt around the outside which provides more stability and an amphibian-like quality,” Italyantsev says.

And it is not reserved for governmental or commercial use – you too could buy one for a mere €50,000.

This is one example of many inventions originating from the Nizhny Novgorod region – a place renowned for its engineering and scientific innovation. Over the past five years, more than 1,000 inventions have been registered and patented here.

Among this number is a robot named Obereg – meaning savior in English.

Small and unassuming, this machine has three sensors, along with an infrared night camera, and can get around obstacles with ease, giving it a huge advantage when it comes to saving lives.

“The robot can search for humans trapped by avalanches, earthquakes and other emergency situations by detecting the electromagnetic signal given off by their watch or mobile phone. It doesn’t need any human help, and can pick up the signal through steel, cement, ice, mud etc,” inventor Alexey Budanin, who is also a student of radio technical college, says.

This signal is then sent to a computer to be analyzed.

The brainchild of science students in Nizhny Novgorod, Obereg's powers aren’t limited to finding people. Plans are underway to develop it to identify explosive devices and, it is hoped, could eventually be used in an attempt to prevent terrorist attacks.

The robot’s potential has sparked interest as far as in Scandinavia and India. So while Obereg might not look much to the untrained eye, this invention from Nizhny Novgorod could soon be saving lives across the world.

The IT sector is also gaining momentum in the region, as Professor Viktor Gergel, dean of the software department, University of Nizhny Novgorod testifies.

“About ten years ago, Intel established their department in Nizhny Novgorod. Ever since, the information technology plays a very important role in the life of Nizhny Novgorod, which is often referred to as ‘the IT capital of Russia’,” Gergel told RT.