Drones have risen to the COVID-19 challenge

Drones have risen to the COVID-19 challenge as social distancing disrupted the delivery of supplies. During the coronavirus pandemic, unmanned aircraft have been used with varying degrees of success to disperse crowds, communicate social distancing messages, monitor people's temperatures, spray public spaces with disinfectants and to deliver medical supplies. #dronesforgood

Drones have risen to the COVID-19 challenge

Jason Ford writes for The Engineer:

Indeed, with ferry services to the Isle of Wight curtailed, Solent Transport, Southampton University, and Windracers embarked on a project to fly medical supplies to St Marys Hospital on the island with a drone.

The Windracers ULTRA (Unmanned Low-cost TRAnsport) UAV, capable of carrying 100kg but laden with loads of up to 40kg, completed the flight to the island on May 9 from Solent , Hants, in 13 minutes.

Before COVID-19 the deliveries would have been undertaken on-road and at sea, with a one-way journey taking as long as six hours. The two-week trial showed how deliveries could be fulfilled in 15 minutes.

Drones Have Risen To The Covid-19 Challenge 1

“Drones have certainly proved their worth during the pandemic, highlighting the advantages of remote operations, and this could pave the way for an expansion of drone use, including deliveries,” said James Willoughby, Drone Content Executive at Heliguy, a North-Shields based supplier of drones and drone pilot training.

According to Willoughby, the Drone Delivery Report by Research and Markets estimates that the global drone market will grow to over $43bn in 2024, with drone deliveries being the fastest-growing application method within that market.

You can read the entire article here.

Droneu Marketing Banner Ad 1

Stay in touch!

If you'd like to stay up to date with all the latest drone , scoops, rumors, and reviews, then follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram or…

Subscribe to our Daily Drone News email.*


 

Submit tips If you have information or tips that you would like to share with us, feel free to submit them hereSupport DroneXL.co: You can support DroneXL.co by using these links when you make your next drone purchase: Adorama, Amazon, B&H, BestBuy, eBay, DJI, Parrot, and Yuneec. We make a small commission when you do so at no additional expense to you. Thank you for helping DroneXL grow! FTC: DroneXL.co uses affiliate links that generate income.

* We do not sell, share, rent out or spam your email, ever. Our email goes out on weekdays around 5:30 p.m.

Follow DroneXL.co on your Google News feed.

Get your Part 107 Certificate

Pass the test and take to the skies with the Pilot Institute. We have helped thousands of people become airplane and commercial drone pilots. Our courses are designed by industry experts to help you pass FAA tests and achieve your dreams.

pilot institute dronexl

FTC: DroneXL.co uses affiliate links that generate income.* We do not sell, share, rent out, or spam your email, ever. Our email goes out on weekdays around 5:30 p.m.

Haye Kesteloo
Haye Kesteloo

Haye Kesteloo is the Editor in Chief and Founder of DroneXL.co, where he covers all drone-related news, DJI rumors and writes drone reviews, and EVXL.co, for all news related to electric vehicles. He is also a co-host of the PiXL Drone Show on YouTube and other podcast platforms. Haye can be reached at haye @ dronexl.co or @hayekesteloo.

Articles: 2475

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap
%d bloggers like this: