Presentation on the works carried out by WeRobotics and its Flying lab network during seminar series “Intrepid Solutions”, set up by Build Change and the Nepali Engineers’ Association (NEA) at its headquarter office in Pulchowk. Intrepid solution is an initiative to stimulate discussions between local practicing engineers, local researchers and international experts.

1. Uttam Pudasaini
GIS Analyst and Drones Enthusiast
Drones in Humanitarian Action
and Disaster Response

5. Japan Flood -2018
 The record downpour has
killed 157 people in 12
prefectures as of Tuesday,
with more than 50 missing.
 Fresh flooding in Hiroshima
Prefecture and mudslides in
certain areas have
complicated the search for
survivors.

6. Rohingya Crisis

7. http://iom.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=1eec7ad29df742938b6470d77c26575a

9. http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-australia-42732304/swimmers-rescued-by-drone-in-australia
291 drownings in the year to June 30- Royal Life Saving Society, Australia

10. WHAT IS A DRONE ?

11. Sadly the Image that comes into Our Mind…

12. Commercial Drones
Venture Radar : http://blog.ventureradar.com/2015/12/29/20-commercial-drone-use-cases-and-leading-innovators/

13. Platforms Sensors Geotagging

14. Different Drones for Different Jobs

16. KEY CONCERN: Drone Usage
(Aerial shots of Heritage sites and damaged areas taken by different agencies.)
May, 2015
Nepal banned the use of drones as they could leak sensitive information (videos and pictures) of its
valuable heritage sites clicked illegally. - A statement from Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN)
- Flying drones without permission would attract penal action according to local civil aviation law.
“It was uncontrolled influx of UAVs
through international media and
humanitarian teams that the
government was forced to take action
and restricted their use.”
16

18. Sept.2015

20. WeRobotics is established in the USA since December 2015 (501C3) and in Switzerland since
January 2017 (Non-profit association) and brings together decades of professional experience,
expertise and contacts.
FOUNDERS

21. WEROBOTICS

22. We create global solutions for low income and at Risk countries through our 4
sector-oriented program tracks:
AidRobotics
Address humanitarian
needs for pre/post
disaster response and
management, policy
and coordination
with robotics
solutions and data
analytics
HealthRobotics
Identify low-cost ways
that provide high-
precision health care
in remote area setting
through cargo and
mapping solutions
that are locally
managed and
maintained
EcoRobotics
Support local
communities with
sustainable farming
practices, address
nature conservation
needs and plan for
environmental
impacts in areas
affected by global
warming
DevRobotics
Address infrastructure
issues with robotics
solutions and data
analytics and create
local “Drones-as-a-
Service” markets an
ecosystems
Robotics for the Benefit of All

23. Localization of the Technology:
If Drone operators aren’t already on site by the time disaster strikes, they probably will not
arrive in time to be useful.

24. Philippines*
FlyingLabs
Senegal*
FlyingLabs
Panama*
FlyingLabs
WeRobotic
s

25. Applications

26. DRONES : (Pre)Disaster
 Many areas in Nepal lack current
updated maps
 Flood risk areas :
 Landscape ,River course keeps on
changing
 Drone-Source Orthophoto Maps -
Updated geodatabase
 High Resolution DEM –better
elevation model

27. DRONES – During Disaster Situations
When disaster strikes , Organization needs accurate ground data and
quickly.
 Drones – Provides situational awareness -without putting first responders at risk.

28. DRONES : Post Disaster Situations
Helps Conducing accurate Post Disaster Need
Assessments- when coupled with other datasets.

29. DRONES for Social Good : Relevant Works From Our Flying Labs Network

30. 1. BUILDING LOCAL CAPACITY

32. First Ever Drone Pilot Training for East African Region
 Professional and hands-on 3-day course offered by Tanzania Flying Labs.
 Use Fixed-wing and Rotary-wing Drones for a range of humanitarian and environmental projects.
 Over 60 applicants from dozens of countries including India, Swaziland, South Africa, Rwanda, Zambia, Ethiopia,
Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and Zimbabwe.

33. 2. Disaster RESPONSE

37. Settlement
Area
800 m
Drone based Hazard and Vulnerability Mapping: Partnership with Medair (NFL)
2.5 Km

40. Bukoba Earthquake Response- TFL

41. 3. FLOOD RESPONSE

42. Tanzania Flying Labs carried out aerial surveys of Dar es Salaam at request of city's Emergency
Response Team and coordinated the flights directly with the Civil Aviation Authority.

44. 4. Response to Tropical Cyclones and
Recovery

45. Kolovai (50km2) Navutoka (10km2) Sopu (10km2)
UAV4Resilience – Utilizing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Disaster Assessments in the Pacific Islands project

46. UAV Imagery Supporting Caribbean Humanitarian Efforts

47. 5.Field Testing Cargo Drones

48. If the Internet can deliver information, then Drones can
deliver almost everything else.
-Richard Levick
chairman and CEO of LEVICK, a global communications and public affairs agency specializing in risk, crisis, and reputation management
https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardlevick/2018/05/15/drone-industry-just-beginning-to-take-off/#15e6d01f72bc

49. Local doctors : An average of 45 snakebites per month and no rapid access to antivenom.

50. Team : PFL. UAV del Peru, and the Peruvian Ministry of Health, along with some of Peru’s leading public health
experts.
Field Test: Between Local health hub Contamana and the remote village of Pampa Hermosa around 40 km away.
Result : Delivery of life-saving antivenom as well as blood samples. 35 minutes VS 6 hours Riverboat
December 2016

53. https://werobotics.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/WeRobotics-Report-on-Drone-Cargo-Field-Tests-Peru-2017.pdf
October , 2017

54. Developing an Autonomous Cargo Boat for Medical Deliveries
Cuyo Archipelago
7,000+ islands, of which around 2,000 are inhabited.

55. Challenges
 Regulatory Environment
 Processing Large amount of Aerial
Data
 More Drone Pilot , Less Data Analyst
 Platform , Technology Itself

56. Drones and AI

57. https://docs.google.com/document/d/16kKik2clGutKejU8uqZevNY6JALf4aVk2ELxLeR-msQ/edit

59. Why Drones ?

60. A Powerful Tool for Storytelling

61.  Quickly deployable
 Very high resolution
 Unaffected by cloud cover
 Cost effective (suits smaller projects)

62. DRONE ETHICS /Code of Conduct
https://uavcode.org/code-of-conduct/

63.  One basket of problems with drones
in humanitarian work is the risk of re-
traumatizing those who have been
negatively targeted in the past by non-
humanitarian drones.
-Faine Greenwood, a UAV Researcher with the
Harvard Humanitarian Initiative’s Signal Program
 Drones are unfortunately often
identified as tools of conflict... as a
humanitarian actor in this space, you
sometimes risk having your
technology misidentified.”
-Andrew Schroeder –Cofounder- WeRobotics
During Crisis Situations : So many actors on ground .
 None of these teams are even talking to each other, let alone
coordinating.
 Not sharing data with the international humanitarian community,
local communities, government and NGOs.

64.  Informs the Sage responsible and effective use of civilian drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in
humanitarian settings.
 Guidance on Data Protection, Community Engagement, Effective Partnerships and Conflict Sensitivity.
 The Code was launched in 2014 by the Humanitarian UAV Network (UAViators). It was revised by more
than 60 organizations through multiple open, multi-stakeholder consultations over the course of two years.
https://uavcode.org/

65. https://www.droneregulations.info
Original regulatory documents to ensure that drones are deployed safely and in compliance with national
regulations.

66. Humanitarian UAV Coordination
Coordinated, safe, ethical and efficient use of Drones in Humanitarian Action

67. First in-depth investigation of the appropriateness
of using drones in humanitarian crises, with an
emphasis on natural disasters.
As prices drop and the technology becomes easier
to use, many barriers to their use are disappearing.
But does that mean that it make sense to use a
drone after an earthquake, flood, storm or
landslide?
Or
Is a drone just another toy that absorbs
organizational resources?

68. CONCLUSION
1. Most promising uses of drones in Humanitarian Action
include:
 Mapping
 Delivering lightweight essential items to remote or
hard to-access locations
 Supporting damage assessments
 Increasing situational awareness
 Monitoring changes…..
2. Drones, with their bird’s-eye view, can significantly
contribute to the comprehension of the conditions in a
crisis, they cannot replace professional program staff
that work directly with the affected communities.

70. Together with UN agencies (UNDP, WFP and UNICEF),
AND
An array of government, private and non profit stakeholders in six countries:
Maldives , Dominican Republic, Peru, Malawi, Mozambique and Myanmar
Undertook a series of workshops and practical simulations throughout 2017 to
figure out:
 what those coordination structures might look like,
 where the gaps may lie, and
 what we in the international community can do to help them.

71. MALAWAI
DRC
MYANMARPERU

72. https://werobotics.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/WeRobotics-Comparative-Analysis-of-UAV-
Gaps-.pdf
Comparative Analysis of
Humanitarian UAV National
Capacity Gaps

73. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/29/drones-predicted-to-give-
british-economy-a-42bn-lift-by-2030
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-09/world-drone-market-
seen-nearing-127-billion-in-2020-pwc-says
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2018/03/21/your-business-will-
employ-drones-maybe-sooner-than-you-think/#7336c81139fc
https://www.techtimes.com/articles/144405/20160326/faa-predicts-drones-will-
number-7-million-by-2020.htm

74. Drones on their own aren’t valuable
unless they’re embedded in strong
analytic, policy, and partnership
networks.
The potential benefits are too numerous to
count if we wisely use the Technology
considering the code of Conduct , but the
risks of inaction are challenging.

75. Thank you …