As the first part of AUVSI Xponential gets underway, the applications have been evaluated. At the AUVSI Xcellence Awards Swoop Aero has been named a finalist for their humanitarian drone missions for the third year in a row.
“The AUVSI XCELLENCE Awards celebrates the achievements of individuals and organisations who have applied unmanned systems technology to create solutions to address a range of challenges affecting business and society,” said Brian Wynne, president and CEO of AUVSI. “AUVSI is pleased to recognise these finalists for their perseverance and dedication to turn dreams into reality.”
Swoop Aero, the Australian drone-powered logistics company, is focused on humanitarian drone delivery including delivering vaccination and other medical supplies on the remote islands of Vanuatu. – and this year, has moved forward in offering COVID-19 vaccine supplies where they are needed most in Swoop Aero’s African service areas.
Eric Peck, CEO and co-founder of Swoop Aero, said: “Following the turbulence and challenges of last year, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are delighted to be recognised for our ongoing impact and value that we are generating across 6 countries and 3 continents. This period has served to catalyse technological innovation and ingenuity, which we have harnessed to continue to support national health systems across the world curb and mitigate the spread of this novel coronavirus. This year, Swoop Aero commenced operations in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom to transport the COVID-19 vaccine and related health supplies including COVID-19 tests, results, PPE and routine medications with minimal human interaction. The previous year has only served to highlight this issue. It is more pressing than ever to build a resilient health system to tackle the challenges of the future. That’s precisely what Swoop Aero is doing.”
AUVSI Xcellence Awards and Swoop Aero
Swoop Aero has operations in six countries, “impacting over 1,000,000 people through partnerships including UNICEF, USAid, UKAid and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,” says a company press release. “Since January 2020, Swoop Aero has scaled operations in Malawi and DR Congo alongside NGO partner VillageReach, with the company forecast to further expand into Mozambique in the coming months.” In addition, Swoop Aero is expected to expand operations throughout Australia to rural parts of the country.
The start-up has been named a finalist for its impact in Vanuatu, DR Congo, Mozambique, Australia, Scotland and Malawi. This announcement follows the company’s previous success in the Humanitarian XCELLENCE Award category in 2020 and 2019 for the innovation they are driving within the aviation industry and the health supply chain.
The AUVSI XCELLENCE Awards honours individuals and organisations that are innovators in the unmanned systems industry, with a demonstrated commitment to advancing autonomy, leading and promoting safe adoption of unmanned systems, and developing programmes that use these technologies to save lives and improve the human condition.
Other finalists in the Humanitarian category are:
- UNICEF African Drone & Data Academy (ADDA) / Virginia Tech, African Drone & Data Academy (ADDA)
- ALTI UAS (Pty) Ltd, ALTI Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operation Blacktip — ALTI Flying in Misool
- DroneUp, Residential Drone Delivery of At-Home COVID-19 Test Kits
- MissionGO, MissionGO Completes Longest UAS Human Organ Delivery Flight
- Northrop Grumman, Northrop Grumman Firebird with Overwatch Imaging TK-9 Assists Cal Fire During 2020 Wildfire Season
Winners will be announced at AUVSI Xponential on August 16-19, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.
Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
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