AWARD YEAR
2017
CATEGORY
Work
GOALS
Good Health & Well-being
KEYWORDS
snake bites, drones, access
COUNTRY
Peru
DESIGNED BY
Peru Flying Labs
WEBSITE
http://werobotics.org/blog/2017/02/13/cargo-drones-amazon-rainforest/
Peru Flying Labs
A drone carrying anti-venom for snake bites in the Amazon.
The Amazon is home to thousands of local indigenous communities spread across very remote areas. As a result, these sparsely populated communities rarely have reliable access to essential medicines and public health services.
Local doctors in the region of Contamana report an average of 45 snakebites per month and no rapid access to antivenom, for example. Peru Flying Labs therefore traveled to the rainforest to learn more about these challenges, and to explore whether cargo drones (UAVs) could realistically be used to overcome some of these problems in a sustainable manner.
The result is an anti-venom drone flown from the town of Contamana to the more remote village of Pampa Hermosa about 40 kilometers away. A regular boat (canoe) takes up to 6 hours to complete the journey. This drone took around 35 minutes and could potentially saves hundreds of lives, and holds the potential to carry many other things besides medicine.