1. Newsletter Q3 2019
Field-testing Cargo Drones for Medicine
Deliveries in Rural Environments
Cargo-Drone trainings
Key Achievement
Local communities in the remote mountains of the Dominican
Republic do not have regular access to healthcare services.
Rather, it is the cost of local transportation that serves as the
biggest impediment. This is particularly problematic when local
clinics run out of medicines, or when they cannot test patient
samples locally. When this happens, patients have to travel to the
hospital in person. If the patient can afford the cost of local
transportation, then getting to the hospital often requires a full day
of travel due to the limited number of local transportation options.
Taking a full day away from paid work and/or from supporting
family is often not an option. In November 2018, WeRobotics and
DR Flying Labs started to work to carry out autonomous cargo
drone deliveries over a 6-week period in 2019. The purpose of the
joint WeRobotics cargo drone project with DR Flying Labs was to
test the following hypothesis: can affordable and locally-repairable
cargo drones be operated locally by health care professionals to
reliably and autonomously deliver medicines on demand—much
like any other medical instrument that is easy enough to use?
Results of the Cargo Drone:
101 autonomous flights were carried out connecting one
Municipal Hospital to two separate health facilities, traveling a total
of 994 kilometers. Of the 51 outbound flights, 40 carried cargo
medicines carrying 21.25 kilos. In terms of the technology, the
DJI M600 Plus cargo drone prototype fulfilled the task.
Inauguration of the Drone Innovation Center, first of its kind
in the Dominican Republic.
Signing event between the IDB Lab and the CyberPark of Santo
Domingo for the new regional project (with Panama and Bolivia)
promoting and supporting SME’s in the use of drones in
infrastructure and supervision.
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In May, WeRobotics along with DR
FlyingLabs had a three-week
training session for 10 local drone
pilots. The pilots, representing key
organizations with drone programs,
were trained by the WeRobotics team
in the use of: drone loading, GPS
point fixing, route creation, use of
safe landing points, connection of
drones with the on-board computer
(raspberry), antenna interconnection,
precision landing. DR Flying Labs
drone pilots completed the training in
the field, setting up routes and flights
for deliveries in the province of San
Juan de la Maguana between June
and July 2019.
The pilots/organizations were:
Aldo D’Allesandro- DR Army-
Drone Unit
Fabio Alejandro Jimenez- DR Air
Force- 911 Emergency Response
Program
Rafael Nunez- National Institute of
Water Resources
Juan Almonte- Red Cross
Dominican Republic
Leonor Cocco- Civil Aviation
Institute of The Dom Republic
Raul Sosa- National Office of
Sismic Evaluation
Daniel De Pena- Drone Pilot- DJI
Representative Pedro
Braulio Alvarez- DR Army- Drones
Unit
Luis Oliveiro- Civil Aviation
Institute of The Dom Republic
Bienvenido Arrindel- DR Army-
Drone Unit
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2. Newsletter April, 2019
Digitization and Technological
Optimization project for SMEs in works
supervision: With this regional project,
the activities related to the supervision of
works are carried out more efficiently,
based on the use of unmanned aerial
vehicles or drones. The main activities will
focus on professional training and skills
development for data capture, data
processing of civil works, the development
of pilot projects that accompany the
supervision of infrastructure works and the
establishment of supplier networks in
inspection and supervision, through the
use of drones and specialized software for
data processing. The project will be
executed simultaneously in the Dominican
Republic, Panama and Bolivia, with a
duration of 36 months and a total amount
of US $ 1,709,250, of which US $
1,180,900 correspond to non-
reimbursable technical assistance granted
by the IDB Lab and US $ 528,350 will be
provided by a public-private alliance.
DR Flying Labs, generates a network
with 5 Universities (strategic partners of
the Drone Innovation Center) that have
programs in the use of drones and
robotics so that they can join the growing
global network of Flying Labs. In order to
generate interest among young people in
solving local challenges and needs,
carrying out various activities and
developing local capacities in universal
centers through the use of appropriate
technologies of drones, robotics and
artificial intelligence.
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dominicanrepublic@flyinglabs.org
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Dominican Republic Flying Labs
c/o EMPRENDE Technology
Business Incubator
@ CYBERPARK Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
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