Flyshare

Drones For Refugees

Team Composition

Mehdi Salehi, Drone Engineer, Director
Kristin Ann Atilano, Backend & Network Engineer
Albert Kim, Researcher, UX, Fullstack Development
Decho Pitukcharoen, UX, Frontend Development

problem statement: background

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over 22,000 refugees have died crossing the Mediterranean between 2000 to 2014. Those numbers are increasing due the instability of the Middle East and North African region by proxy wars and increasing internal conflicts. The amount of collateral damage that is inflicted on civilians is tragic beyond the imagination of typical westerners. These people become homeless and lose families and friends in the process and many seek to flee their home countries to find a life not ridden with war, death and fear. It is a painful decision for families to make to leave the very homes they they love and grew up in. By all accounts this seems like an insurmountable challenge to address but we have chosen a particular part in their journey in which we could be a life changing help to those to who choose that path.

problem statement: journey across the sea

Leaving their home country is the first painful decision, the next involves the challenges they must undergo to find a new haven. One corridor that many refugees choose is the Mediterranean passage from Turkey to Greece, a relatively viable distance by sea but hardly one that is riddled without life-threatening challenges - let alone the uncertainty they face if their destination will grant them refugee status. With the means of no more than a life raft or a makeshift boat, refugees transverse the Mediterranean with their lives at risk to capsizing. The boats are often made of wood or rubber, boats with too many occupants are common, and the likelihood of running into storms poses a high risk. Relief organizations exist to bring aid and make rescue attempts but there isn’t a viable enough solution that can account for all refugees.

Problem Statement Assets

Map and Deaths

This illustrates the routes and where deaths occur.

Footage

Actual footage our drone engineer took of refugees(2015) crossing the sea.

solution

It is this scenario where we believe drone technology can be leveraged to deliver valuable information to relief efforts and potentially save more lives. By dramatically increasing the response rates of rescue operations, Drones for Refugees (DFR) establishes a real-time drone monitoring system that ensures their safe arrival. We deployed our first system to the Greek island of Lesvos in 2015. It supports data acquisition and broadcasting in real-time that allows us to monitor the refugees’ journey day and night. The live footage and GPS coordinates are streamed live to refugee relief organizations, informing them where they may provide immediate assistance.

technology

Components and Diagrams

First Iteration

First prototype to test the concept of the real-time feed.

Mobile Base Station

This booster station can be deployed on-the-go that extends the range of the drone and feeds data back to the network.

Custom Drone Diagram

Prototype drone schematic devised by our drone engineer. It is designed for light weight travel and deployment mechanism for life preservers. This design is made for the longest flight time duration as possible.

Drone Flight Design

The vertical-take-off-and-landing (VTOL) is designed for maximum efficiency for longer sustained flight.

Pictorial diagram of our components

The drone is built with the Pixhawk controller that manages the whole onboard system.

Relief Journey

Coming soon