Drones help combat Coronavirus outbreak

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, DJI Agras pilots across the country have actively cooperated with partners to support epidemic prevention with DJI agriculture drones. Agriculture protection teams in Henan, Chengdu, Shan dong and Hunan assisted epidemic prevention by spraying and disinfecting villages and main streets in town.

Ensure Personnel Safety​: Aerial spraying controlled remotely can effectively keep operators away from affected areas, avoiding cross infections.

Highly Efficient Operation​: Spraying efficiency upto 100,000㎡ per hour with spraying tank capacity of 16L.

Lower Operation Risks​: DJI Agras drones are integrated with Digital Beam Forming (DBF) imaging radar, first in the industry, supporting auto detection and bypassing of obstacles.

Aerial package delivery can further reduce human exposures and overcrowding​. For epidemic prevention, drones can be utilized by law enforcement officials to deliver emergency supplies to citizens. This reduces unnecessary risks of human exposure without breaking regional control regulations.

Efficient​: Delivering supplies via the air is fast and efficient.

Avoid Contact​: Avoid human exposures and reduce the risk of spreading the virus.

Drones increase efficiency of control over public areas and can help disperse traffic and reduce close contact among traffic policemen. A quick aerial inspection over administrative areas can also discover issues and help decision makers figure out solutions in a timely manner. Through its on-board speaker, a drone can be used to support public advisory efforts by broadcasting critical health and safety messages without the need to expose public safety officials to unnecessary risk.

Communication​: Disperse people gathering in public areas, urging people to take protective measures. Guide the general public to cooperate with law enforcement and share prevention knowledge.

Road Traffic​​: Conduct large scale aerial inspection over key traffic hubs and help disperse traffic congestion.

Public Area​​: Inspect all public areas including streets, communities and villages, detecting crowds in time.

The Covid 19 virus continues to be a growing concern in the US. To minimize this risk, DJI has documented a way to utilize the Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual to measure body temperatures.

Enhanced Safety​​​: Aerial measurements controlled remotely can effectively keep operators away from affected areas, avoiding cross infection.

Temperature Accuracy: After testing and verification, with the calibration process followed correctly and without interference from sunlight.

Note: While the calibration process (if followed correctly) does keep the test relatively accurate, please note that this solution is not designed for professional medical scenarios. The results should therefore be treated as a reference and not be used as a standard for medical evaluation.

This is not the first time drones have been implemented in health-related scenarios. In Zanzibar, Tanzania, spraying drones are being deployed to fight Malaria. A group of researchers modified DJI’s Agras platform to spray chemicals onto rice fields to prevent Malaria-carrying mosquitoes from reproducing.

Separately, drones have been used to deliver critical medical supplies or lab samples in areas without the proper infrastructure.

While drones have become commonplace in industries such as construction, film production and public safety, these stories are a signal that drones are likely to become a common tool across the healthcare industry as well.

The spread of COVID-19 has been an unfortunate way to begin a new decade, but it is fortunate to see how various parties have quickly come up with unique and innovative solutions to combat the virus for the greater good.