Tag: Drones

  • Nigerian robotics expert develops app that reveals terrorist hideouts

    Nigerian robotics expert develops app that reveals terrorist hideouts

    There has been a significant increase in the use of drones in recent years. The likelihood of witnessing remotely controlled flying robots has increased dramatically in recent years.

    Drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), were first developed by the military in the early 20th century but have since found widespread use in civilian fields, including videography, photography, and even as toys for amateurs.

    However, Nigerian artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics expert Olusola Ayoola has said that drones could help Nigeria in its fight against terrorism.

    Ayoola said drones could help find the terrorists’ safe house. “The fact that we don’t know where the terrorists are really bothers me; if you don’t know where the terrorists are, how can you possibly win?”

    The initial step in my situation was to help the government track down anyone in a wooded area. Since oxygen levels in a forest are already quite high, adding human activities like cooking, riding, or using generators will just increase the amount of carbon dioxide released into the air.

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    Nigeria’s armed forces have experience with unmanned aerial vehicles

    Though, the Nigerian military had already begun using drones before Ayoola suggested they be used to monitor carbon emissions from the country’s forests.

    Military Africa reports that only Nigeria in Sub-Saharan Africa has used drones in warfare. When the Chibok girls were missing, the United Kingdom, France, and Israel were the first to send in rescuers.

    Known as Tsaigumi, Nigeria’s first indigenous operational UAV was introduced in February 2018 by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans, authors of The Armed Forces of North Korea On The Path to Songun, constructed a catalogue of Nigeria’s UAV inventory, which revealed, surprisingly, that Nigeria’s attempt at indigenously developed drones was a failure.

    After considering offers from China and Turkey, Nigeria has chosen to purchase as many as eight UAVs in late 2020. A drone with the ability to detect carbon emissions would be a significant advance in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria, despite the country’s existing arsenal of surveillance and combat drones.

    If drones can detect carbon, what does it mean for society as a whole?

    The abduction of the schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014 was one of the worst terrorist attacks in Nigeria’s history. About two hundred and fifty female schoolgirls were abducted and held in captivity for four years.

    This news broadcast features a survivor who walked for three days through the Sambisa Forest to get away. Ayoola’s technique may have helped the military locate the source of the terrorists’ carbon emissions, which would have aided in the search for survivors.

    Military drones are already in use for tactical reconnaissance, but most surveillance relies on imagery from ordinary cameras to multispectral and hyperspectral imaging, which are used to track military targets in the dark.

    However, it is unusual to see carbon-emission monitors mounted. According to a report on verified terrorist safehouses in Nigeria, terrorists frequently return kidnapped victims to “their camps deep in the woods.”

    Drones or other airborne technologies for detecting terrorists may have trouble seeing through dense forest canopies.

    However, because of the large number of trees present, forests have an especially high oxygen content. According to a report published in Frontiers, forest biomass and soils sequester about 45 per cent of the world’s organic carbon.

    Ayoola predicts that human activities will lead to a noticeable increase in carbon emissions, despite the fact that carbon emissions are quite low in these areas.

    Methods for flying a drone equipped with a carbon detector

    The carbon emission tracker is a method we devised for finding human settlements. In Ayoola’s words, “we’re not claiming it’ll tell you that they are terrorists,” but it will tell you that there are people in a jungle that no one has been allowed to approach.

    The carbon emission monitor takes atmospheric and ground-level samples.

    Ayoola added that the device could trace the path of carbon emissions in the atmosphere.

    Click here to read about the bronze medal won by the Nigerian team at the inaugural Global Robotics Challenge.

    Based on your current altitude and GPS location, we can determine where the ground source of that emission was.

    Drones have been used to monitor the atmosphere for carbon emissions before.

    In May of 2022, TotalEnergies launched a plan to reduce methane emissions from all of its upstream oil and gas assets by employing drones.

    The Airborne Ultralight Spectrometer for Environmental Applications was first conceptualized in 2017 and has since undergone significant development. (AUSEA).

    TotalEnergies’s technology focuses mostly on quantifying atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. On the other hand, Ayoola’s technology is tuned to detect out-of-the-ordinary concentrations of carbon.

    Support from the government and their willingness to help

    “I have gotten amazing assistance from the government, not in cash since I am not seeking for money, but in terms of acceptability and partnership,” Ayoola said.

    He claimed that collaborating with government officials on the carbon emission tracker drone has led to more partnerships with government officials on other technological solutions he has been developing.

    For instance, RAIN is teaming up with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to create IoT devices that will give farmers remote temperature and irrigation management. The states of Jigawa and Ogun have also received these devices and deployed them.

    In addition, RAIN is working on a portable industrial robotic platform (IMORP). The voice-operated ground vehicle can transport up to 250 kilograms in a safe environment.

    Artificial intelligence (AI) and robots are examples of deep tech, which consists of highly sophisticated but user-unfocused technologies.

    The majority of African tech startups have been focused on either financial technology (fintech) or electronic commerce (eCommerce) because to these sectors’ relatively low barriers to entry.

    As Ayoola sees it, there must be an explanation. You need a lot of time, energy, and expertise to do it. A laboratory or workspace is required for the development of deep technologies.

    To solve this problem, the government must coordinate efforts to increase domestic output or ensure that the vast majority of enterprises in Nigeria employ locally-developed technologies.

    While it is true that investing heavily in deep technology is necessary, Ayoola believes that a lot can be accomplished on a shoestring budget with the right skill set.

    No, I don’t think there’s a shortage of funds for great ideas; I think there’s a deficiency of trust. The public’s faith is essential, and you must earn it.

    At RAIN, Ayoola instructs students in the art of creating both hardware and software. He recruits “deep tech” enthusiasts who can take on challenging issues like food security and agribusiness, and they eventually form a formidable team.

  • Regulation of Drones Across Africa

    Regulation of Drones Across Africa

    As published in the first part of this report, UAVs have been adopted by most African countries and while some African countries have outrightly banned the use of drones, others have left the regulation of UAVs to their Aviation authorities.

    The African Union (AU) has met to discuss the regulation of UAV (Unmanned aerial vehicles), but so far, every country is left to provide its regulatory policy for the operation of drones.

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    As of April 2021, 18 African countries have enacted drone regulations. In some of these countries, the use of UAV is regulated by both the country’s defense agency and the aviation authority. In these countries, one would require a license or some form of registration to fly a drone.

    Although UAV regulations are still being developed in some other countries across Africa, there are laws regulating the use of drones to protect the privacy of citizens and ensure security.

    In some North African countries, such as Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt private drones are prohibited. In Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana, drones are allowed to fly with the permission of the country’s Civil Aviation Authority while in other countries like Liberia for example, there is no legal framework for the use of drones.

    In some of the African countries where drone regulation has been drafted, the approval process is cumbersome and there are huge bills to settle before drones can be operated.
    For example; To use a drone in Nigeria, registration is required. The drone operator is required to show proof of N20,000,000 in capital shares and pay N500,000 processing fee six months in advance.

    The licence they’ll get is valid for 3 years and a fee of N100,000 is to be paid annually.

    Concerns That Warrant The Regulation Of Drones

    Data protection is one of the concerns that have arisen in Africa following the advancement of technology and artificial intelligence. Drones involve data and data protection is a vital security concern hence, the dire need for laid drone regulation.

    Illegal Surveillance: To protect citizens from the invasion of their privacy through drone operations, many governments realize the need for laws that regulate the use of drones.

    Crash Hazard: So that they don’t interfere with the operation of airlines, drones are typically restricted around airports or other sites of national importance, and the use of drones over heavily populated areas is often either forbidden or severely restricted.
    Also, visual line of sight (VLOS) is often required for all users, restricting the horizontal and vertical distance of drone operation, as well as meteorological and lighting conditions for operation.

    Factors Considered While Licensing A Drone

    There are some dissimilarities between the different regulations in African countries, making it difficult for pilots in different countries to refer to common rules and share skills. This dampens the expected impact of the drone industry on the continent’s economic development.

    However, the general licensing considerations across Africa are;

    1. The size of the drone
    2. The altitude to which said the drone can fly
    3. Proposed use of the drone

    Licensing registration and insurance requirements are often nonexistent for recreational small drones; however, for commercial drone usage, a sporting pilot license has become the standard for countries without drone-specific licensing procedures.

    Mechanisms Put In Place For Drone Regulation In Africa

    Research shows that many countries In Africa, regulate the use of drones by making it compulsory for drone operators to have the following:
    1. pilot’s license
    2. aircraft registration
    3. restricted zones
    4. insurance.

    Approaches to commercial drone regulation in Africa are apparent as listed below.
    Outright ban: Countries do not allow drones at all for commercial use.
    Effective ban: Countries have a formal process for commercial drone licensing,
    but requirements are either impossible to meet or licenses do not appear to have been approved.

    Harmonizing drone regulations in Africa will ease the movement of drone operators across countries facilitating the contribution of the drone industry to the economic and social development of the continent as envisioned by the African Union.

  • Drone Technology in Africa- Part 1

    Drone Technology in Africa- Part 1

    Drones are flying robots that can be remotely controlled or flown autonomously by software-controlled flight plans, in conjunction with onboard sensors and a global positioning system (GPS).
    The drone or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) industry in Africa is taking off, evolving into a massive enterprise. People have begun to recognise the many benefits of using UAVs for commercial and non-commercial purposes.

    Drones offer advantages adapted to the local reality through ease of navigating the large-sized territories, low costs of use, rapidity of airway transportation etc. In some African countries, infrastructure, especially roads in rural areas, can hinder access to services, commerce and transport. Under certain conditions, UAVs can help overcome this lack of infrastructure, and investing in UAV technology could help meet Africa’s demands more efficiently and cost-effectively.
    Drone technology usage is growing across Africa. Some of the countries with significant promise include:

    Burkina Faso

    FasoDrone is a drone system design and aerial data processing company based on artificial intelligence. It provides timely and accurate data for quick and profitable decisions with low risk. It offers solutions to actors in agriculture, mining, building and public works (BTP), urban development, environmental protection, and media. It is based in Burkina Faso.

    Kenya

    Different usage of this technology has emerged. Transportation is vital, with Morris Mbetsa (a self-taught electrical engineer) developing an unmanned passenger drone in 2018. This drone is capable of transporting tourists over Nairobi. Other companies including Flying Labs and Astral Aerial deploy Drones to render different services such as mapping, product delivery, rapid response, situational awareness, surveying and data analysis, agricultural services etc. In acknowledgement of the growth in drone technology, the government is organising The Kenyan Drone Business Competition 2022 (KDBC) with 25 competitors for the best drone innovation in the country.

    Morocco

    This country has significant innovation with these drones. AtlanSpace won the innovation award of the African Entrepreneurship Award launched by the BMCE in 2017 after benefiting from financial support from Microsoft, the UN Organisation for Industrial Development, and the Moroccan government. The company focuses on preserving the environment through artificial intelligence-driven by drones. The aerial surveillance system by smart drone was conceived to combat harmful phenomena targeting Moroccan and African sea resources like illegal fishing, surface sea activities, and oil discharging in the oceans.

    Similarly, Delta Drone – a significant player in the sector listed on Euronext, has been set up in this country. Their specialisation include services related to the safety and security of industrial facilities. Its clients OCP, Glencore, Anglo-American, Anglo-Gold Ashanti, Exxaro, South 32, Newmont and Rössing Uranium and even ECOWAS.

    Niger

    The company Drone Africa Service focuses on the production of civilian drones (differing from military drones) dedicated to aerial photography and other services. Different sectors are targeted: agriculture, environment, protected areas surveillance, prevention and risks and disasters managing, construction industry, communication, tourism, etc. The startup aims at becoming the leader of aerial imagery in West Africa.

    Nigeria

    LifeBlood award

    Drone technology is evolving with various usage and overall technology innovations in Nigeria. For example, Zenvus uses electronic sensors to collect soil, monitor the health status of the field and detect drought and pests. LifeBank won a sum of $250, 000 as part of its drive to deploy drones for medical supplies, while UAS Innovations & Solutions is interested in survey and surveillance. In acknowledgement, the government is supporting the idea of local manufacture of drones to support the evolution of its adoption.

    Rwanda

    Zipline images

    A partnership between the Silicon Valley company Zipline and the Rwandan government created an innovative device in 2016. This device is crucial to Rwanda’s health sector, like hospitals and medical centres can order blood bags in emergency cases and have them delivered by drones. Zipline delivers blood, drugs, vaccines, and other medical supplies to health centres in remote areas. The Zipline drones can bear up to 1.5kgs cargo and go up to a 90km/h speed. Geo-tracked, the device is monitored and programmed to deliver the cargo in a perimeter around the order area.

    South Africa

    South Africa is advanced in its drone technology, with some industry watchers advising exportation of services. Services using this technology are numerous, with different players offering bespoke and generic services. Some companies include Integrated Aerial Systems, Drone Fishing, Passerine Aircraft Corporation, Aerobotics, Revolute Systems etc. Services rendered include public infrastructure monitoring, security surveillance, survey & mapping, advanced data analysis, fishing, AI-enabled pest detection, disease detection, etc. It is a mature industry with deep investment and competition.

    Zambia

    i-Drones Services Limited company was created in late 2016. It uses drones to monitor farms and take decisions to improve their yield. The company has a specific initiative, the “Idrone4ag youth project”, whose purpose is to train and educate young people even in rural areas on the use of drones. The long-term objective is to create jobs and improve Zambia’s agricultural sector.

     

    Despite the increasing adoption, regulation becomes a significant issue for deployments across the continent. This will be discussed in Part 2 of this article.