A drone after take off at Zipline's assembling point in Muhanga district. (File)
Rwanda is set to become the first African country to host a global drone flying competition.
Dubbed Lake Kivu Challenge, the competition –
due February 8-16 in Karongi District in Western Province – seeks to
showcase latest drone revolution and trends.
It will focus on electric drone technology
with vertical landing or short landing capability that are low cost and
capable of high frequency flights, according to organisers.
The event will be held on the sidelines of Africa Drone Forum 2020.
The competition, according to organisers,
will be the first of its kind to be held Africa and is expected to help
bridge the gap between available technology, the African use cases and
the safety aspects of implementing high frequency services that can make
a difference in isolated communities in the region.
“The Lake Kivu Challenge (LKC) flying
competition will attract global drone teams to compete on real-world
problems in three categories, which are laboratory sample pick-up, and
emergency package delivery, and find, assess through rural asset
mapping,” a statement issued by the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority
reads in part.
From the competition, experts will select
the best-suited electric vertical take-off and landing (e-VTOL) drone
services fit for the long-range use cases defined in Africa.
“The winning drone teams will be awarded
close to $400,000 in cash in addition to the potential of receiving
pilot contracts with various agencies to demonstrate service provision.”
The development, officials say, is designed
to push the boundaries of and demonstrate the current state of the art
in long range Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) technology for African
markets.
The challenge is expected to see several
experts that are leading the way in drone technology help open and test
the minds of engineers, regulators, entrepreneurs and investors.
This would promote the skies above Africa as
a valuable resource and technologies to help build sustainable
infrastructure, according to organisers.
African Drone Forum
Meanwhile, Africa Drone Forum 2020, whose
aim is to demonstrate how drones can be used for everything, from cargo
delivery to emergency response, kicks off next week.
It will run from February 5-7.
The forum, which will bring together leading
figures in drone technology from private sector and airspace regulators
to discuss what is possible for the future of drones in Africa, is the
outcome of the collaboration between the Government of Rwanda and the
World Economic Forum (WEF).
In an earlier interview with The New Times,
Paula Ingabire, the Minister for ICT and Innovation, stressed the forum
will highlight Rwanda’s experience and explore the potential for future
applications.
“It’s an opportunity for Rwanda to share our
experience in pioneering the use of Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS)
UAV operations, and our development of drone regulations”
BVLOS is about air worthiness of any flying object.
This means that drones are capable of flying
long distances out of sight and hence can be used to perform more tasks
in different fields like maritime and geological surveys, mining, and
delivery of commercial products.
Rwanda has, in recent years, been
increasingly using drones in improving service delivery, especially in
healthcare, agriculture and land surveys.
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