Drone readiness index

Abstract

This paper proposes a new model for evaluating the robustness of the ecosystem for drone projects in a given country, considering nine factors ranging from the regulatory framework to economic and social impact. The objective of this study is to provide a tool in the form of an index that can be used to gauge countries readiness for drone projects. Governments, NGOs as well as commercial drone companies can use the index to gain insights into the possibilities of drones for non-military use. Notable successful projects using drones were used as a benchmark to chart out the various components of the Drone Readiness Index (DRI). We first reviewed selected projects that have attempted to use drone aircrafts for non-military activities, using secondary data. We then quantify the elements of the drone ecosystem and present derivations of the proposed drone readiness index. To show applications and examples of the proposed drone readiness index, we compute the values of the drone readiness index for selected African countries. These values are further presented in a website[1].