Drones can carry only light weight objects

The usage of drones by companies and individuals is increasing exponentially, with new uses and applications hitting the headlines every day. But how can we use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to positively impact the world and solve 21st century challenges?

Startup company Medrone aims to do just that, using drones to deliver much-needed medical supplies to difficult to reach areas, effectively using the novel method of transportation to make the world a better place.

A spin-off of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Medrone goes a step further to ensure a safe flight for these supplies by powering drones with artificial vision to avoid people and obstacles in their path that GPS cannot foresee. Their aim is to transport vaccines, medicine, blood samples and other critical goods to and from disconnected and off-grid areas, as well heavily congested cities and where the safest route is overhead.

Alessandro Crimi, a Researcher at the Italian Institute of Technology and Lecturer at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, founded Medrone and believes that innovation is useless unless it is brought into practice. At the RE.WORK Future Technology Summit next week, Alessandro will present the beneficial impact of rural community projects in Ghana using mobile devices and UAVs. We caught up with him ahead of the summit to hear more.

- Re.Work