On Wednesday, May 22nd, UAVAid joined a UPDWG round table webinar to discuss the technical and logistical challenges encountered during UAV test flights in Malawi.
The objectives of the session were to;
1: Share knowledge gained from past deployments to help future users better plan their UAV deployments and projects.
2: Provide feedback for those responsible for integrated airspace corridor(s) so that they are better able to make useful and meaningful improvements to the support, framework and context provided, for future users.
The event was hosted by the Malawi Department of Civil Aviation and UNICEF Malawi.
The UAV contributors who shared their experience at the Malawi drone corridor were:
• Kevin Kochersberger, Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering
• Diego Miralles, NextWing
• Daniel Ronen, UAVAid
• Helena Samsioe, Globhe
Daniel Ronen, co-founder of UAVAid, spoke about several key issues arising from their time in Malawi in late 2018. These included;
- The context of UAVAid’s deployment to Malawi wrt the unique long range and multi-role opportunities for Hansard UAV.
- Logistical and administrative issues transporting equipment into, within and out of Malawi.
- Issues of fuel supply contamination.
- The regulatory framework in Malawi.
Resources and Session Recordings
A video recording, audio recording and presentation of the webinar session are all available from the UPDWG. Please contact info@updwg.org for more information.
About UPDWG
The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for Payload Delivery Working Group (UPDWG) is a global community of stakeholders interested in the development, advancement and application of drones for use in public health and supply chain systems.