The Pouncer
Engineer and adventurer creates the world's first edible, humanitarian drone
The engineer and adventurer Nigel Gifford has created an edible, disposable drone called the Pouncer, which can be dropped with high accuracy into disaster zones to provide emergency food rations. At the moment, people in a disaster zone are issued with something called a humanitarian daily ration (HDR). An HDR doesn’t recognise culture, religious beliefs, or diet - you get issued with a pack that has 2,200 calories in it, and that's it. Most of the time it's wasted. With the Pouncer, Gifford aims to eliminate wastage altogether. Its wing structure will be made from (as yet undetermined) food, and compartments in the main body and wings will be filled with different foods, according to the region the drone is being delivered to. The rest of the structure will be made from wood, to be broken down and used for cooking and heating. By the time the drone has been dismantled and consumed, there will be almost nothing left of it.