Emergency situations and natural disasters put the lives of thousands of people at risk every year, especially children. Drones have great potential to reach highly inaccessible areas quickly, cover vast areas in a short time and generate a large amount of data. Despite this, their use in emergency response and prevention remains limited by the coordination of drone operators, whether contracted or volunteer, with rescue services and aeronautical authorities.
The selected project aims to reduce the cost and accessibility of drone operations in emergency situations. An intelligent drone flight management system will be adapted to operate in low connectivity environments, supporting real-time data exchange and the transport of medical supplies.
In March, part of the Dronfies team will travel to Kasungu, Malawi, where one of UNICEF's drone test corridors is located to begin the first drone testing project.
These investments are part of UNICEF's largest drone programme exploring the use of the technology for a range of applications including delivering and transporting vaccines, improving connectivity in hard-to-reach communities and obtaining aerial imagery for better emergency preparedness and response.
The selected companies will benefit from financial support for the development of the projects and will have access to four humanitarian corridors for drone testing in Africa and Asia. In addition, they will have technical support and access to industry-leading mentors to advise on their growth and scale.
About UNICEF Innovation fund:
The Innovation Fund enables UNICEF to rapidly evaluate, fund and develop open source solutions that improve the lives of children and young people. It provides funding and technology support for innovative companies that use technology to improve the world. To date, the Fund has made 85 investments in 55 countries and aims to invest in 20 new companies each year. To see the projects and their progress go to: www.unicefinnovationfund.org
The 6 startups selected in the drone program:
Cloudline Africa (South Africa) https://flycloudline.com/
Bioverse Labs (Brazil) https://www.bioverselabs.com/
Dronfies Labs (Uruguay) https://www.dronfieslabs.com/
Prokura Innovations (Nepal) https://www.prokurainnovations.com/
qAira (Peru) http://www.qairadrones.com/
Rentadrone (Chile) https://rentadrone.cl/
Source: https://www.unicef.org/innovation/venturefund/dronescohort/DronfiesLabs
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