Unmanned Aerial Vehicle The latest drone news
The Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International (AUVSI) has introduced eight finalists from the drone group for the inaugural AUVSI XCELLENCE Humanitarian Award.
The award, sponsored by DJI, acknowledges 5 organizations and/or people which have used drone expertise for humanitarian or philanthropic good. Five winners shall be chosen from the shortlist and obtain a share of $25,000 to place in the direction of the continuation of their humanitarian efforts.
“UAVs are playing a vital role in humanitarian operations around the world—from Chile to Tanzania, to China and Australia—as demonstrated by the submissions we’ve seen from this inaugural program,” stated Michael Perry, Managing Director of North America at DJI.
“In addition to recognizing those that have made great contributions to their communities and the environment, this opportunity helped uncover some new innovative applications in how UAVs are being used to serve humanitarian and lifesaving purposes. We thank the judges who undertook the great challenge of selecting the eight finalists from a pool of remarkable submissions, and we hope this inspires more users to accomplish great feats with this valuable technology.”
Using drones for good
The eight finalists have all led the best way in groundbreaking efforts to enhance the lives of others utilizing drones, from pure catastrophe administration to medical help and search and rescue.
The finalists are:
- Aeryon Labs Inc., Aeryon SkyRanger UAS Provides Critical Aerial Intelligence to First Responders in Sint Maarten within the Wake of Hurricane Irma (Canada)
- AnsuR Technologies, GEO-VISION – Integrating Drones for Situational Awareness in Disaster Management (Sweden)
- ONG DroneSAR Chile, Emergency Response Team and Humanitarian Aid Through the Use of Drones (Chile)
- DroneSAR, DroneSAR UAV Search & Rescue (SAR) Solution – Executing
- Autonomous Aerial, Search and Delivering Live Drone Data to Augment First Response Efforts (Ireland)
- Gene Robinson, Wimberley Fire Rescue, “First to Respond” Bringing UAS to Search and Rescue 2005 – 2018 (US)
- Nepal Flying Lab, Drone Hazard & Vulnerability Mapping in Nepal (Nepal)
- WeRobotics, Drones for Disease Vector Control (Switzerland)
- Zipline International, Zipline’s Medical Drone Delivery Operation in Rwanda (Rwanda)
“The unmanned systems industry is innovating at an incredible rate and creating tremendous benefits for our economy, lifestyle and society,” stated Brian Wynne, president and CEO of AUVSI. “The XCELLENCE awards give us a chance to recognize the companies and individuals who are propelling the industry into the future.”
The Humanitarian Award winners shall be introduced at a particular ceremony throughout AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2018 subsequent month, on thursday, May third on the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
