WeRobotics

WeRobotics is a not-for-profit organization that uses drones for humanitarian purposes.[1][2][3]

WeRobotics
IndustryHumaniarian
FoundedDecember 2015 (2015-12) in Geneva, Switzerland
FoundersPatrick Meier, Andrew Schroeder
Headquarters
Geneva
,
Switzerland
Key people
Patrick Meier, Andrew Schroeder
ProductsDelivery of humanitarian relief
Websitewerobotics.org

In 2018, responding to a Zika outbreak, the organization released 284,2000 sterile mosquitoes in Brazil.[4]

The organization has also worked in Peru, Papua New Guinea, Nepal, and Tanzania delivering medical products and mapping disaster zones to aid humanitarian response.

Organization

WeRobotics was co-founded in December 2015[5] by Patrick Meier[1] and Andrew Schroeder,[6] and has offices in Wilmington and Geneva.[7]

WeRobotics works with local communities to create innovation laboratories, called Flying Labs, to assess if technology solutions may address local problems.[8]

Activities
Co-founder Patrick Meier (right) talking about drones at the Drones and Aerial Observation New Technologies for Property Rights, Human Rights, and Global Development event in 2015.

WeRobotics is piloting healthcare deliveries in Peru, with a focus on rapid deployment of snakebite-antivenom.[1]

In Papua New Guinea, in partnership with Red Wing Labs, WeRobotics does work for the U.S. Centre for Disease Control.[9]

In Nepal, WeRobotics has created the Katmandu Flying Lab and uses drones to create maps.[3] Flying Labs are also running in Tanzania and Peru.[10]

WeRobotics worked with the Red Cross in Fiji to map damage to buildings caused by Cyclone Keni.[11]

In March 2018, in collaboration with the Insect Pest Control Laboratory of the International Atomic Energy Agency and during a Zika virus outbreak, WeRobotics introduced 284,200 sterile male mosquitoes around Carnaíba do Sertão, Brazil, interrupting the reproductive behavior of the fertile mosquitoes.[4][7]

WeRobotics ran a process to update the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Code of Conduct in May 2018.[12]

In 2021, the company released a children's picture book called Ariel & Friends about the use of drones for social good.[13]

See also

References
  1. Chen, Angus (2017-02-13). "A $40,000 Drone Failed To Lift Off. But There Was A Silver Lining". NPR. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
  2. Farr, Christina (2017-11-14). "Delivering medical supplies into the remote Amazon is a big challenge, but drones could help". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  3. "When Disaster Strikes, He Creates A 'Crisis Map' That Helps Save Lives". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
  4. Wu, Katherine J. "Do Not Fear the Drones Air-Dropping 50,000 Mosquitoes From Above". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2021-11-28. {{cite web}}: Missing |author1= (help)
  5. "Organization". WeRobotics - The Power of Local. WeRobitics. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  6. "Entrepreneurial alumni: Ford School alums share winning strategies in social innovation | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy". fordschool.umich.edu. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
  7. "How bug-delivering drones are helping defeat deadly diseases". NBC News. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
  8. "Automation for sustainable development | Engineer Live". www.engineerlive.com. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
  9. Cheney, Catherine (20 May 2019). "What role should donors play in helping drones for delivery take flight?". Devex.
  10. Rogers, Kelli (6 November 2017). "Drone, meet the humanitarian cluster approach". Devex.
  11. "Do no harm: A code to guide use of humanitarian drones". SciDev.Net. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  12. swissinfo.ch, <Celia Luterbacher> in Boston. "How drones are transforming humanitarian aid". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
  13. "New picture book series on drones celebrates local expertise and culture". DroneDJ. 2021-09-21. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
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