The Potential of Drone Technology in Pandemics

In recent years, drones or Unmanned Airborne Vehicles (UAVs) have become associated with aerial data and image acquisition for many environmental applications. Unexpectedly, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has led to new opportunities for drones in many new application areas, with and without the use of remote sensing imaging technology. Many unique applications have already been proposed within a short period of time, some building on existing pre-COVID-19 demonstrations and ideas, to exploring new possibilities for use. Whilst drone technology is well-established, there are still factors requiring further investigation to fully exploit drones. These include: allocation, management and control of drone air space, operation Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS), the role of existing and new telecommunication networks, safe operation in built-up areas, and societal approval and acceptance. This chapter presents an overview of current drone technology and future developments and the exploration of some existing and proposed applications. The chapter will examine the issues facing successful mainstream implementation of the use of drones for these applications, and the problems that need to be overcome to allow this technology to mature and become mainstream.