Bots Without Borders – The Draganflyer X6 UAV and Humanitarian Relief Projects

The automation of humanitarian relief efforts is on the horizon, says University of Manchester employee Robert Richardson.  Recently, Richardson has been briefing members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Médecins Sans Frontières-UK, the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA), and several other academic organizations on the usage of automated systems in humanitarian efforts. The aim of these talks is to open a dialogue between the designers of automated systems and humanitarian policy makers, making aid efforts more efficient in the future.

Although fully automating air transports, ground vehicles, and other systems can be done currently, the cost involved makes it impractical for every day use. Despite this, a number of advanced UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) have already seen operational use by governments and academic organizations. Currently, small UAVs can be used for low level aerial reconnaissance and surveillance, offering a bird’s eye view of almost any situation. VTOL type UAVs like the Draganflyer X6 have a number of immediate applications to humanitarian relief, which were the main focus of Mr. Richardson’s seminars:

Search and Rescue Operations with UAVs

Small, man portable UAVs have immediate applications to search and rescue work. Aerial pictures and video can provide a fast way to capture all the critical information of a location, and plan and deploy rescue efforts accordingly. We have designed the Draganflyer X6 UAV for this purpose, allowing it to be equipped with specialized cameras ranging from those sensitive to low lighting levels, to sophisticated FLIR infra-red heat sensing technology.

Small UAVs have another advantage over conventional technology – they are able to fly over any terrain. Rocky mountain ledges, dense forests, and water obstacles would stop ground based vehicles in their tracks. Being able to quickly fly to the situation and return is one reason that the future of search and rescue technology includes UAVs.

Starting UAV Search and Rescue Planning

“The idea is to get people involved in humanitarian issues to start thinking about these things,” says Richardson  – “We are trying to open doors.” He notes that everyday technology such as cars and other vehicles are being automated  all the time. “It is being done incrementally,” he says. “Instead of automating the whole thing at once, small parts of the car, like the traction control, are being made autonomous.”

“It is more about thinking what’s out there on the horizon, and what ought to be on your radar. We’re opening a dialogue. These organizations need to be able to engage with the experts.”

Rosie Oglesby, the coordinator of the seminars, says that the aim is to open the planning horizon, and to open a dialogue between scientists and humanitarian policy makers. As always, Draganfly Innovations is looking forward to creating new developments in the field. We anticipate a future where UAVs have every day applications, and continue our research and development with that vision in mind.