Entrants have until 25 April to take part in the 2019 Lake Victoria Challenge Flying Competition. According to the Challenge website: “As part of this phase, teams will virtually demonstrate how … drones can successfully navigate one of our three tracks: Emergency Delivery, Sample Pick-Up, and Find and Assess. From there, the final teams will be selected and invited to Mwanza to compete in the 2019 Lake Victoria Challenge Flying Competitions… Supplementing existing road, rail and sea infrastructure, drones are able to accelerate delivery times and reduce costs. Time is a critical factor when delivering sensitive cargo like anti-venom or blood transfusions and the adoption of this emerging technology can save thousands of lives.
“The Emergency Delivery of the LVC Flying Competitions asks teams to safely deliver an emergency package from a droneport in Mwanza to Juma Island at a distance of 20 km; then return and safely land back at the point of origin. No battery change, airspace violations, or deviations are allowed and the sample packages must arrive undamaged.
“The Mwanza Region of Lake Victoria has 286 health facilities that all receive supplies from the Medical Stores Department in Mwanza city. The Bugando Medical Centre in Mwanza city is a referral, consultant and university hospital for the Lake and Western zones and serves a catchment population of over 14 million people. Laboratory samples, including viral load and dried blood spots that are collected by regional health facilities must be sent and tested at Bugando Medical Centre.
“The Emergency Delivery competition of the LVC Flying Competitions images a future where health care systems can be transformed, time and cost effectively connecting facilities like the Bugando Medical Centre in Mwanza City with neighbouring, hard-to-reach facilities in the region.
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