Drones bring benefits to global public health that aren’t just limited to medical specimen and supply transport. In fact, drone-mounted sensors and AI (artificial intelligence) now offer epidemiologists a greater understanding of how diseases originate and spread. They also provide better ways to prevent them.
For example, water sources that breed dengue and malaria-carrying mosquitoes often elude detection in the Caribbean. Mosquitoes can breed in standing water in not-so-obvious locations. Examples include, certain plants with bowl-shaped structures, rooftop structures, and even tires hidden in dense vegetation that cannot be seen from ground level.
Long-endurance drones with daylight cameras and multispectral sensors can map out large areas. Drones can also autonomously identify potential mosquito breeding areas that can later be mitigated by public health teams.
Such mapping generates tremendous amounts of data – impossible to evaluate by even large teams of human beings utilizing manual methods. AI-based software can evaluate thousands of aerial photos and identify mosquito breeding areas in mere minutes. This task could take a team many years to accomplish if each photograph was to be individually evaluated.
Contact us to learn more about Skyfire mapping drones and AI that can be custom-tailored for your application.