Bruce McPherson

Governments and researchers around the world are working on new solutions for pandemics in the current Covid-19 crisis.  Drones have been important tools for applications including drone delivery and disinfection – but in this project, Canadian drone solutions company Draganfly will act as systems integrator with a healthcare data services company and researchers in Australia, developing a drone to help health officials immediately identify an outbreak.  The proposed “pandemic” drone would be able to fly over people and identify their temperature and respiratory conditions, helping to limit infections.

The need for rapid identification of people infected with the disease so that they can quarantine and limit further infection has become abundantly clear in the Novel Coronavirus disaster, as current testing tools can be slow and have limited availability.  A drone that could immediately survey community groups could be a game changer for healthcare officials.

This picture shows the data that the drone could capture:

image courtesy Draganfly

The following is a Draganfly press release.

Draganfly Selected to Globally Integrate Breakthrough Health Diagnosis Technology Immediately onto Autonomous Camera’s and Specialized Drones to Combat Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Future Health Emergencies

Partnering with The University of South Australia developers of the technology in collaboration with the Australian Department of Defence – Defence Science and Technology Group

Vancouver, British Columbia – March 26, 2020  (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Draganfly Inc. (CSE: DFLY) (OTCQB: DFLYF) (FSE: 3U8) (“Draganfly” or the “Company”), an award-winning, industry-leading manufacturer within the commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (“UAV”), Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (“RPAS”), and unmanned vehicle sector, today announced that it has been selected as the exclusive global systems integrator for a project (the “Vital Intelligence Project”) with Vital Intelligence Inc., a healthcare data services & deep learning company in conjunction with the University of South Australia, using technology developed with help from the Australian Department of Defence Science and Technology Group (the “DST”).

The Vital Intelligence Project is a health and respiratory monitoring platform involving utilizing new and existing camera networks as well as UAVs and RPAS being immediately commercialized for health monitoring and detection of infectious and respiratory conditions including monitoring temperatures, heart and respiratory rates, amongst crowds, workforces, airlines, cruise ships, potential at-risk groups, i.e., seniors in care facilities, convention centers, border crossings or critical infrastructure facilities. The breakthrough technology was developed in a collaboration between the University of South Australia and the DST.

Draganfly, in being selected as the exclusive integration partner on March 25, 2020, executed a binding agreement which has an initial budget of up to $1.5M to utilize its engineering, integration and distribution expertise as well as its secure supply chain for immediate commercialization and deployment of the technology.

Dr. Javaan Chahl, Defence Science and Technology Chair at the University of South Australia said, “The University and Defence supported my team’s efforts to develop automation for use in epidemics and disasters. We had imagined the technology being used in a future relief expedition to some far-away place. Now, shockingly, we see a need for its use in our everyday lives immediately. Draganfly’s industrial know-how is quickly helping us ensure our research can save lives.”

“Draganfly has been selected because of its proven leadership in an industry so important to public safety at such a critical time. We look forward to working with global agencies and industry to rapidly deploy this important technology,” said Cameron Chell, CEO of Draganfly.

“Draganfly is honored to work on such an important project given the current pandemic facing the world with COVID-19. Health and respiratory monitoring will be vital for not only detection, but also utilizing the data to understand health trends. As we move forward, drones and autonomous technology doing detection will be an important part of ensuring public safety,” said Andy Card, Director of Draganfly and former Secretary of Transportation and White House Chief of Staff.

Dr. Jack Chow, advisor to the Vital Intelligence Project and the former first Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) on infectious diseases said: “With fighting epidemics rising as a global priority, new versatile technologies, such as humanitarian mission UAVs, are immediately needed to detect and track outbreaks so that critical interventions can be deployed sooner and with greater effectiveness.”

About University of South Australia

The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities and is the largest university in South Australia with approximately 32,000 students. UniSA is among the world’s top universities, ranked in the World’s Top 50 Under 50 by both the Quacarelli Symonds (QS) World University Ranking (#25) and Times Higher Education (THE) (#26). Under the University’s Act, its original mission was “to preserve, extend and disseminate knowledge through teaching, research, scholarship and consultancy, and to provide educational programs that will enhance the diverse cultural life of the wider community”.

About Draganfly

Draganfly Inc. (CSE: DFLY; OTCQB: DFLYF; FSE: 3U8) is the creator of quality, cutting-edge, UVS and software that revolutionizes the way people do business. Recognized as being at the forefront of technology for over 21 years, Draganfly is an award-winning, industry-leading manufacturer within the commercial UAV and UVS space, serving the public safety, agriculture, industrial inspections and mapping and surveying markets. Draganfly is a company driven by passion, ingenuity and the need to provide efficient solutions and first-class services to its customers around the world with the goal of saving time, money and lives.

For more information on Draganfly, please visit us at draganfly.com.