Month: April 2019

With the continued rise of robotics and autonomous systems in renewables, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are quickly becoming the go-to method for inspection across the wind industry.

UAV technology provides a means to reduce the risk of inspection tasks, increase the frequency of inspection and provide high-quality information for the maintenance planning process. Although UAV inspection has been adopted in the wind industry, there can be misunderstanding around the capability and application of UAV technology in the sector.

This case study, by Craig Stout and David Thompson, aims to lift the lid on the inspection process and to provide actionable, operational insight from Cyberhawk, one of the wind industry’s leading inspection service providers.

by Craig Stout, David Thompson

ORE Catapult
March 28, 2019

The Lake Victoria Challenge (LVC) explores the potential of unlocking Africa’s lower skies as a mobility resource. Envisioned to be the first event of its kind in Africa, it focuses on emerging transport technologies that can leapfrog the continent’s infrastructure deficit and address its public health and mobility challenges with a visionary, safe and scalable solution. The event is designed to showcase and test business models, processes and mature e-VTOL UAV technologies with high potential of near-term adoption for routine use in the Lake Victoria Region.

The LVC Flying Competitions are planned to take place between 25-30 November 2019 in Mwanza, Tanzania. Drone innovators will compete in a series of real-world scenarios between Juma Island in Lake Victoria, and a temporary droneport in Mwanza City. There are three categories in the LVC Flying Competitions: Emergency Delivery ; Sample Pick-Up ; and Find and Assess . These competitions focus on pickup and delivery of a medical parcel utilizing electric vertical take-off and landing platforms, environmental sustainability, and safely abiding by the rules and regulations prescribed by the Tanzanian Civil Aviation and Military authorities.

LVC Flying Competitions Registration Phases

Phase One involves completing an online submission form to explain how your drone system meet the different eligibility criteria for one of the three of the LVC Flying Competitions. Register below . Teams can register to compete in more than one competition. Submission deadline is April 25, 2019 midnight (GMT).

Competition teams that successfully move onto Phase Two will be asked to virtually demonstrate how their drone can address specific user cases. Further details around this phase will be announced in April 2019.

Shortlisted teams will be invited to compete in Phase Three: the LVC Flying Competitions in Mwanza, currently planned for between 25-30 November 2019, in front of an international panel of judges.

Competitors will also be invited to showcase their technology at the LVC Expo and Symposium, which is scheduled for 3-5 December 2019 in Mwanza, Tanzania.

Mission: Emergency Delivery

Safely deliver an emergency package from the droneport in Mwanza to Juma Island at a distance of 20 km; then come back and safely land at the origin. No battery swap is allowed at the drop-off location.

Mission 2: Sample Pickup

Pick up as many 250g modules as possible from Juma Island and return them to Mwanza. Several packages may be carried at one time.

Mission 3: Find & Assess

Successfully identify the GPS locations of pre-placed markers on Juma Island and perform a change detection analysis. Flights must be operated out of the Mwanza Droneport.

Edward Anderson: Lake Victoria Challenge 2019

Registration

www.lakevictoriachallenge.org

Recently Swoop Aero ran 10 on-demand flights in a week for the nurses on Epi island in Vanuatu. A large number of these flights were between the medical hub in Vaemali, in the islands northern tip, and Port Quimie, in the Southeast of the island (the flight path is pictured below).

Why so many between these locations?

A couple of reasons; Firstly, the Pt Quimie nurse needed to undertake a large number of vaccines in Pt Quimie and the surrounding communities – these vaccines are only stored in Vaemali. Swoop delivered them on-demand and under cold chain conditions. Secondly, the whole island was running dangerously low on medical supplies. Vaemali and Pt Quimie are two of the biggest health centers on the island.

The nurses were able to coordinate and send supplies back and forth, based on the immediate demands of the patients at both Pt Quimie and Vaemali as well as onwards to other aid posts across the island. Swoop Aero’s ability to vertically takeoff and land meant the nurses could send supplies out AND receive them in – enabling the immediate health needs of the patients on the island to be met.

Community engagement is key to adoption of new technology, and no group is too big or small. Swoop Aero have visited 25 villages across 8 islands in Vanuatu, met with communities, spoken to schools, and listened to the people to ensure everyone knows that when they see a Swoop Aero drone overhead, help is on the way

#verticaltakeoffandlanding #vtol #twowaylogistics #urgentmedicalsupplies #drones #dronesforgood

https://www.swoop.aero/