Dubai: Six finalists qualified for the second edition of the UAE Drones for Good Award on Thursday.
It was announced that three contestants each from the International and National competitions of the award have qualified on the first day for the final round of the award as 20 semi-finalists demonstrated their projects live in front of a panel of high-profile international judges at a specially organised event in Dubai Internet City today.
The three-day event, from February 4 to 6, organised at Dubai Internet City also serves as a platform for interaction between owners of innovative projects and various business entities and incubators. It also features workshops to inspire innovating thinking among students.
The UAE Drones for Good Award received more than 1,000 projects from 165 countries around the world, displaying high levels of innovation and technological development.
The semi-finalists are:
International Competition
1) Loon Copter from the US demonstrated its novel multi-rotor platform that is capable of flight, on-water surface operation, as well as diving. The drone system combines in one vehicle the capabilities of traditional reconnaissance aircraft, watercraft, and submarines, and can be employed for surveying, search, and rescue missions.
Score: 82.25 per cent
2) 4Front Robotics from Canada presented its Highly Manoeuverable USAR Robot drones that can locate and rescue persons from buildings on fire, collapsed building, mines or other urban and industrial entrapments. These drones have the capability to fly and navigate in highly confined spaces, and provide high-resolution data in a matter of hours.
Score: 81 per cent
3) SenseLab from Greece demonstrated its SaveME project that makes use of a smart phone that transforms into a drone to support people in emergency health conditions, especially those in situations when people are trapped, lost or wounded and in urgent need of assistance.
Score: 80.38 per cent
National Competition
1) Buildrone team showed its construction and repair aerial robot that detects damages and carries out repair tasks in hard-to-access environments. To carry out a repair, such as a leak in a pipeline, or a cracked road surface, or a leaking roof tile, the robot flies close to the damaged area and deposits a sealant material.
Score: 91.38 per cent
2) ReefRover team presented a drone that is capable of providing marine biologists, environmental monitoring agencies and science enthusiasts with new tools to effectively map, explore and study near-shore underwater ecosystems. The ReefRover drone can help increase the rate of coral reef data collection and better organise the data to make it more useful for research.
Score: 74.63 per cent
3) FlyLab team presented their drone that can contribute to the education sector by providing an innovative, low-cost and easy-to-use solution to achieve a shift in the way science, mathematics and other subjects are currently being taught at schools.
Score: 74.25 per cent
