How can drones be used to deliver emergency supplies quickly and efficiently?

Drones in public safety, emergency management, SAR, humanitarian purposes have been proven. DRONERESPONDERS.ORG, a nonprofit program to advance UAS (drones) identified 50 public safety use cases across all public safety disciplines. Drones are basically a transport of remote sensing devices, able to carry and deliver various payloads. Drones do three main things : 1. Enhance safety for community & responders 2. Improve operational effectiveness as more information is available 3. Provide real time situational awareness.

My son Billy Jeremijenko has invented a laser and solar panel so drones can be kept up in the sky and not need to land for recharging batteries. Useful for agricultural mapping surf lifesaving military and likely emergency. Lasers can be fitted on top of buildings and shoot energy to the drones. So they can travel the required distances. Without recharging.

I am a current pilot/operator in the Emergency Service space. Remote Piloted Aircraft have proven time and time again to be invaluable assets. Personally it is one of the most fulfilling roles I have performed.

In emergency scenarios, leveraging drones for rapid and secure supply delivery is pivotal. Implementing encrypted communication channels ensures data integrity, guarding against potential breaches during the delivery process. Geofencing technology can be employed to define authorized flight paths, preventing unauthorized access and enhancing the overall security of the operation. Integration of autonomous navigation systems not only expedites deliveries but also reduces the risk of human error. Collaborative efforts with regulatory bodies and emergency response agencies are crucial to establish standardized security protocols, fostering a cohesive and secure environment for the deployment of emergency supply drones.

Drone use, moving forward in emergency/ war like operations is the future. Large drones capable of extended flight duration and payload capacity. large screen management of multiple drones, point and click ability with limited AI interface for civilian use ( mostly for object avoidance) mobile operational C2 stations. this is all written on the assumption of drone usage in a natural disaster/emergency role. Military applications I could almost write a limitless essay on tactical advantages, best use cases and various role configurations.

Overinflated expectations driven by sales brochures is a huge challenge. Many folks are trying to sell you things that have never been used for the roles you propose. Nor have the salespeople flown them. All that glitters and all that jazz. There are far too many experts that only started playing the game in the last 10 years and have never flown anything more than a COTS multirotor.

Despite their potential benefits, drones face challenges in humanitarian logistics. Regulatory disparities across countries and regions present a hurdle for standardized drone operations. Dependence on technology, including batteries, navigation systems, and communication networks, poses a risk to reliability. Capacity limitations, influenced by size and design, affect carrying capacity and range. Achieving acceptance may be challenging due to concerns from local communities, authorities, or armed groups viewing drones as potential threats. Cultural, social, and political factors also influence the reception of drones and their operators. Addressing these challenges is crucial for the widespread adoption of drones in humanitarian efforts.

Having been in the trenches working as an inspector I could see limited use of drones being beneficial. But in addition to the regulatory challenges the supplies that are typically needed are usually in large quantities and drones would have limited capacity to deliver.

The training, exposure and experience of the drone operator will either reduce or magnify the challenges faced when operating with drones.

Well said. You wonder why anyone would buy something they never tried? Not many videos showing an end to end flight delivery except a few small packages.

We train public safety, military in transition,, and veterans to use drones in disaster response and recovery scenarios. Use cases for us include missing persons, damage assessments, debris management, managing resources and assets. Depending on the sensors imbedded on the drones, there are additional use cases that are helpful in disaster response and recovery.

Drones are being used by over 5000 public safety organizations in the U.S. by every discipline (LE, Fire, Hazmat, EMS, EM, SAR and humanitarian) in more than 50 use cases that have been identified. Humanitarian are used to transport medicines, etc to underserved communities. The most done abroad by Zipline with hundreds of thousands of successful deliveries. 70% are LE. 20% are Fire, 5% are EM, EMS, SAR, etc)

Drones provide the opportunity to deliver critical supplies where infrastructure is damaged or time is of the essence. Recent drone activity has proven invaluable in monitoring of occurring natural disasters such as floods and wild fires. It is an absolute shame that this technology has been rapidly developed for war and destruction as opposed to humanitarian reasons.

Drones have demonstrated success in disaster scenarios, showcasing their potential for humanitarian logistics. In rural Virginia, USA, NASA and Virginia Tech conducted a project using drones to deliver medical supplies to a clinic. UNICEF and the Malawian government utilized drones to transport blood samples from a remote health center to a laboratory in Malawi. The World Food Programme and the Peruvian government employed drones to deliver food and water to a landslide-isolated village in Peru. In Vanuatu, UNICEF and the government conducted a trial where a drone delivered vaccines to a remote island.

In addition to drones being helpful in disaster scenarios, I feel that they can help with officer saftey on calls with a high propensity for danger. I also feel like drines can act as a first responder in medical emergencies by delevering aid at the scene where someone with experience is already there and can use the delivered aid packages until ambulances arrive.

Drones are definitely the way forward. They provide a high level of public value, particularly for Regional areas where Volunteers can undertake training to fly them. This would allow for oversight on the fireground when other resources such as helicopter and planes are not a viable option. Consideration has to be given to whether the resource would be Govt owned or a private contract. What interface technology would be required to link the drones to current EM IT systems, confidentiality etc.

As often happens, there is a capability gap occurring between military development and bridging these tax payer-developed skills to the public 1st responders. The military has invested billions in drone technology that has reduced size and increased capability. With a few exceptions, much of that knowledge and lessons learned has stayed within the DoD. A dedicated agency-driven initiative to cross-deck that information and disseminate to 1st responders would bridge the gap and assist rescuers in getting the most out of these tools. Perhaps US Air Force or even Space Force, using National Guard facilities throughout the country as training sites coordinated with agencies would be a starting point?

Until the load capability of the drones increases significantly, the use of drones for medical logistics during disasters is limited. They are, and will continue to be, very useful for support to small groups with limited medical needs. This capability should be included in disaster response packages to put another capability into the hands of the responders.

No question as to the practical how. Using the American Company Zipline as an example, you find that emergency deliveries using drones are commercially viable and a practical lifesaver. Since 2016 the company has been delivering blood, medical products and vaccines among many others. They have made over 800,000 deliveries and flown more than 40 million miles autonomously with drones. The regulators need to build the control capabilities to allow far more autonomous drone flights while protecting from bad actors. This is not a question of how. The capabilities exist and are proven. It's a question of when!

With the right applications, drones can be thousands of dollars per fight hour cheaper then maanned aicraft for delivering aid in emergency operations.