The Drone Frontier

In this 5-part series, we’re going to delve deeper into what the future of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, can look like; how they can be used for positive impact, what we need to do to integrate them in existing systems, and how we can get the global rules on drone technology right. This series was commissioned by UKAid and undertaken by the Frontier Technologies Hub. Hosted by Sarah Pannell, Policy adviser in FCDO’s Technology and Innovation Unit and drones for development lead at the FCDO.This is the second season of The Frontier Podcast series. Our first series tackled the role of data in international development, hosted by Valentine J Gandhi and produced by the Frontier Technologies Hub and Niras Digital Futures Hub, and funded by UKAid. Listen below and learn more at https://www.frontiertechhub.org/resources

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The Drone Frontier

Testing beyond the tech

July 05, 2022 • Frontier Technologies Hub • Season 2 • Episode 2

We first speak to Ruth McPake from the Frontier Technologies Hub. Ruth is a Senior Consultant at IMC Worldwide, one of the partner organisations that make up the Hub.

The Hub has explored the use of drones predominantly through its Livestreaming programme, which since 2016 has partnered FCDO staff with technologists and other actors to test an idea for impact within a pilot project. Ruth talks about what we’ve learned from testing drone technology in a wide variety of use cases.

Next, we hear from Kush Gadhia, Senior Business Development Manager at Astral Aerial Solutions, a drone company and affiliate of Astral Aviation, an all-cargo airline based in Kenya.

Kush has been working on one of the pilots supported by the programme, which has looked specifically at whether drones can be used as a complementary solution to tackle the desert locust problem in East Africa. We discuss Kush’s experience of leading a small, local team, and what the next steps are when it comes to testing drones in this nascent use case.

Links:
Village Reach Evidence Generation Guide - https://www.updwg.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/UAS-Evidence-Generation-Toolkit-V2-Nov-2019.pdf
UNICEF sustainability toolkit - https://unicef.github.io/drone-4sdgtoolkit/

FTL UAV Portfolio Review - https://www.frontiertechhub.org/resources/uav-portfolio-review
Frontier Technology Hub Website - https://www.frontiertechhub.org/