Virginia Tech Creates Africa’s First “drone air corridor” in Malawi

In June, UNICEF partnered with U.S. company Zipline to use the city of Kasungu in Malawi as Africa’s first drone “air corridor” to test the use of unmanned aerial vehicles as a rapid transport method of delivering time-sensitive medicine and supplies. In a country plagued with a severe lack of functional infrastructure, aerial transportation could circumvent the problem and provide Malawi citizens with a reliable method of quickly getting the life-saving things they need. A big leap toward that reality was made in November when Virginia Tech partnered with the local Kasungu drone teams to test the new EcoSoar drone and refine UNICEF’s air corridor established in the summer.
According to VTNews, Virginia Tech’s Unmanned Systems Lab has already set several records in Malawi, including accomplishing the longest cross-country UAV flight, the first flight of an aircraft constructed by Malawians, and the first delivery of a payload from a health clinic. In regards to that last claim, we’re not entirely sure about that, as a drone in Zurich seems to have accomplished that feat several months ago. Regardless, it’s amazing to see high-tech groups such as Virginia Tech’s Unmanned Systems Lab partner with the underprivileged people of African countries to improve their day-to-day lives, with the incredibly useful tool that is the modern UAV.