How Drones Can Disinfect During the Pandemic
David: Hey everybody, David Plummer and Michael Ferguson from Aerial Influence here. Can you believe this is the beginning of our fourth series? We’re so happy you stuck around for three and are continuing with us.
At Aerial Influence, we like to have a lot of fun, but we primarily enjoy talking about drones. Over the past few years, we’ve noticed that we receive a lot of comments on our videos and a bunch of complaints when we don’t respond to all of them. That’s why, for these next six posts, we’re doing a series called AI Q+A that addresses your unanswered questions. You ask the question and we give the best answer we can. Michael, let’s start with the first comment we received.
Michael: Today’s comment starts us off with some nice compliments:
“This [drone disinfecting] is absolutely disgusting. You should be ashamed for even considering this. Living in a sterile environment causes superbugs. Use your brain. Not to mention the cost to the environment. Just insanity.”
David: This person was commenting on our video in which we were testing whether the Agras MG-1P and T16 could spray disinfectant to fight COVID-19. For those of you who don’t know drones the way we do, farmers typically use the Agras to spray pesticides or spread seed for their fields. Diverging from this original function, we thought we could use it to disinfect outdoor areas as well.
Michael: When we were asked to come in and try this, we chose to execute a chemical-free water test with blue food coloring. While we’re not advocating for spraying chemicals everywhere, we did find drones show plenty of promise for future disinfecting.
David: And I think disinfecting drones could help us get back to normal sooner. It’s possible that this innovation allows kids back on the playground and fans back to the stands for a baseball or NFL game. Those are just two of many ways remote disinfecting could bring back some normalcy. We’re trying to do some interesting things here.
Recently, we were asked by NFL teams to come and demonstrate how we can spray their seats. A lot of people were interested in our technology. It’s still in a very early stage, though, so we understand why it scares people.
Michael: I completely understand, and I don’t want a superbug either.
With that said, let’s look at a key advantage drones have in the agricultural industry and how it could translate to disinfecting. Namely, our spraying units drastically reduce the amount of pesticide sprayed. This is because the areas they target are much more precise than other aircraft.
David: When a crop-dusting plane drops its pesticide, it gets very low to the ground. Even at this height, there will be significant drift winds that blow that pesticide (or disinfectant) elsewhere. The spray falls in many places they don’t want it to be.
While this is a concern for drones as well, piloting a drone is much more controlled. Because you’re standing right there, you can observe where the drift winds are heading and adjust accordingly. Though we don’t expect spray drones to replace crop-dusting planes, we do see drones’ great promise in the Ag industry.
When applied to the disinfecting industry, we believe it’s going to be a real game-changer. Eventually – once EPA regulations catch up to the technology – drone disinfecting will be much more widespread. Don’t be surprised if, in the next four or five years, you see a drone spraying your kid’s school playground every day before and after classes. Our overall goal here is to harness the power of tech to keep people safe, and this is just one way drones can meet a dire need.
Thank you so much for checking out our first blog in our new AI Q+A series. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with more questions from you that we are excited to answer. We’ll see you next time.
In the meantime, if you’re curious about how drones can help your business or farm, shoot us an email or call us for a consultation. We’re excited to share the future of drones with you.