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

All Episodes

The Drone Frontier

Plugging into existing systems

July 05, 2022 • Frontier Technologies Hub • Season 2 • Episode 3

We speak to Tautvydas Juskauskas, Drones Specialist at UNICEF Supply Division and member of the Interagency Supply Chain Group, about how to best implement drone solutions within existing programmes and share global learning.

We then talk with Olivier Defawe and Luciana Maxim of VillageReach, who have been at the forefront of testing UAVs for healthcare delivery. We discuss what they have learnt from their FTL pilot in Mozambique, as well as what they recommend to others who wish to integrate drones in existing systems.

Both guests frame discussion around their experience of drones for supply chain delivery, where in some developing country contexts, rural locations and poor roads often mean that drones can leapfrog existing processes. The key question being: how do you make sure that these activities are sustained and manage to slot into existing systems?

Links:

UPDWG - UAV for Payload Delivery Working Group - https://www.updwg.org/

World Bank, Unlocking the Lower Skies: The Costs and Benefits of Deploying Drones across Use Cases in East Africa - https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/35593

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

Frontier Technology Hub Website - https://www.frontiertechhub.org/