The Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International (AUVSI) has announced eight finalists from the drone community for the inaugural AUVSI XCELLENCE Humanitarian Award.
The award, sponsored by DJI, recognizes five organizations and/or individuals that have used drone technology for humanitarian or philanthropic good. Five winners will be chosen from the shortlist and receive a share of $25,000 to put towards the continuation of their humanitarian efforts.
“UAVs are playing a vital role in humanitarian operations around the world—from Chile to Tanzania, to China and Australia—as demonstrated by the submissions we’ve seen from this inaugural program,” said Michael Perry, Managing Director of North America at DJI.
“In addition to recognizing those that have made great contributions to their communities and the environment, this opportunity helped uncover some new innovative applications in how UAVs are being used to serve humanitarian and lifesaving purposes. We thank the judges who undertook the great challenge of selecting the eight finalists from a pool of remarkable submissions, and we hope this inspires more users to accomplish great feats with this valuable technology.”
Using drones for good
The eight finalists have all led the way in groundbreaking efforts to improve the lives of others using drones, from natural disaster management to medical assistance and search and rescue.
The finalists are:
- Aeryon Labs Inc., Aeryon SkyRanger UAS Provides Critical Aerial Intelligence to First Responders in Sint Maarten in the Wake of Hurricane Irma (Canada)
- AnsuR Technologies, GEO-VISION – Integrating Drones for Situational Awareness in Disaster Management (Sweden)
- ONG DroneSAR Chile, Emergency Response Team and Humanitarian Aid Through the Use of Drones (Chile)
- DroneSAR, DroneSAR UAV Search & Rescue (SAR) Solution – Executing
- Autonomous Aerial, Search and Delivering Live Drone Data to Augment First Response Efforts (Ireland)
- Gene Robinson, Wimberley Fire Rescue, “First to Respond” Bringing UAS to Search and Rescue 2005 – 2018 (US)
- Nepal Flying Lab, Drone Hazard & Vulnerability Mapping in Nepal (Nepal)
- WeRobotics, Drones for Disease Vector Control (Switzerland)
- Zipline International, Zipline’s Medical Drone Delivery Operation in Rwanda (Rwanda)
“The unmanned systems industry is innovating at an incredible rate and creating tremendous benefits for our economy, lifestyle and society,” said Brian Wynne, president and CEO of AUVSI. “The XCELLENCE awards give us a chance to recognize the companies and individuals who are propelling the industry into the future.”
The Humanitarian Award winners will be announced at a special ceremony during AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2018 next month, on thursday, May 3rd at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
Malek Murison is a freelance writer and editor with a passion for tech trends and innovation. He handles product reviews, major releases and keeps an eye on the enthusiast market for DroneLife.
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