Drones to drop mail, medicine in Palapye
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The Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) through its Department of Computer Science and Information Systems in the process of launching drones that would assist with community service in Palapye and surrounding areas. This is part of the strategy to demonstrate the effectiveness of technology in delivering services.
Dr Dimane Mpoeleng, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems has told Weekend Post that BIUST is working towards getting appropriate licensing from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAAB) to ensure that the project comes to full fruition. The University has already constructed a mini-helipad where the drones will take off and land from their missions in and around Palapye. There are already about ten drones of different make to start off the project. The drones cost between P18 000 and P40 000 each depending on the make.
“We will start small with these drones dropping off mail in and around the University. But we also want them to be of use to the Palapye community and other surrounding areas. We intend to have these drones dropping off essential medicinal items in homesteads in Palapye, especially the simple doses for children and the elderly so that we deal with the issue of them having to travel to clinics to collect their Dr Mpoeleng explained that a drone, in a technological context, is an unmanned aircraft.
He said drones are more formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or unmanned aircraft systems (UASes). “Essentially, a drone is a flying robot. The aircrafts may be remotely controlled or can fly autonomously through software-controlled flight plans in their embedded systems working in conjunction with onboard sensors and GPS,” he said.
“In the recent past, UAVs were most often associated with the military, where they were used initially for anti-aircraft target practice, intelligence gathering and then, more controversially, as weapons platforms. Drones are now also used in a wide range of civilian roles ranging from search and rescue, surveillance, traffic monitoring, weather monitoring and firefighting to personal drones and business drone-based photography, as well as videography, agriculture and even delivery services,” says a BI Intelligence Report.
To emphasise BIUST’s commitment to these projects, the University Vice Chancellor, Professor Otlogetswe Totolo said, “We are a research intensive university. Research projects should be relevant. We want professors who come up with projects that talk to the challenges faced by our people. One thing about Botswana is that we must learn to be proud of our own professors because they trained at the same schools as the foreign professors. We are confident that these interventions we come up with address the challenges faced by our people in the community.”
Professor Totolo said he wants BIUST to significantly contribute to the education system of the country. He said they must add the relevant skills to various industries, skills such as forensic scientists, metallurgists, computer technicians, telecommunications engineers, chemists, astronauts, physicians, bio technicians, electrical engineers and others. “We are confident these skills are necessary to transforming the economy of Botswana from a resource based to a knowledge based economy. BIUST is also contributing to the intellectual body of knowledge in research, science and technology,” he said.
“We started with 265 students and today we are at 1700 students in a period of four years. We are very proud because Botswana Top achievers come to this university, none of the students who come to BIUST has a grade point less than 40. By 2022 we intend to produce 6000 students. Of course we will need classrooms, hostels, lecture theatres among other things. Botswana currently has only 2000 scientists and it must be noted that they are not enough to diversify the economy, explained Professor Totolo.
A 2016 Business Insider BI Intelligence report forecasted the growth of enterprise drone use to outpace the consumer drone sector in both shipments and revenues by 2021, reaching 29 million shipments worldwide. It stated that the integration of drones and internet of things technology has created numerous enterprise use cases; drones working with on-ground IoT sensor networks can help agricultural companies monitor land and crops, energy companies survey power lines and operational equipment, and insurance companies monitor properties for claims and/or policies.
However growth in commercial and personal drones has also created numerous safety concerns, namely midair collisions and loss of control. This publication gathered that specific concerns about drones flying too close to commercial aircraft prompted calls for regulation, hence BIUST is engaging the CAAB for the licensing regime. The CAAB has implemented a set of unmanned aircraft rules, placing limits on autonomous or semi-autonomous drone operation.
OTHER INTERVENTIONS
In other ventures BIUST also hosts the Square kilometre array project in collaboration with South Africa, Australia and Ghana. This project is a very big project. It will see about 70 telescopes placed at the Kgalagadi. The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project is an international effort to build the world’s largest radio telescope, with eventually over a square kilometre (one million square metres) of collecting area. Dr Mpoeleng explained that the scale of the SKA represents a huge leap forward in both engineering and research & development. He said as one of the largest scientific endeavours in history, the SKA will bring together a wealth of the world’s finest scientists, engineers and policy makers to bring the project to fruition. For his part Professor Totolo said Botswana has an opportunity to invest in this area to further diversify the economy.
“The SKA will eventually use thousands of dishes and up to a million antennas that will enable astronomers to monitor the sky in unprecedented detail and survey the entire sky much faster than any system currently in existence. Its unique configuration will give the SKA unrivalled scope in observations, largely exceeding the image resolution quality of the Hubble Space Telescope.” Dr Mpoeleng further shared that BIUST is also involved in the MESA project. He explained that the Monitoring of the Environment for Security in Africa (MESA) is a follow-up initiative to the African Monitoring of the Environment for Sustainable Development (AMESD) programme.
“It contributes to the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) 6th Partnership on Climate Change and Environment and builds on the AMESD programme achievements. The initiative is focused on using Earth Observation (EO) data and information products for environment and sustainable development, specifically designed for African users at continental, regional and national levels (AUC, 5 African Regions, and 50 countries).” The project’s reliance on proven satellite and land-based monitoring technology is also consistent with the JAES 8th Partnership on Science, Information Society and Space.
Another project which was a conception by one of the BIUST students, he has come up with a protype for a farm yard. According to his supervisors this will allow a farmer to monitor his or her farm and the livestock while away. The project will allow the farm to monitor movements of his livestock, its condition and further know whether there is missing livestock or not. The mechanism or technology is linked to the cattle tags and some LED lights that senses the livestock movement.
Meanwhile BIUST laboratories are now ready to start assisting the Botswana Police Service with Forensic tests including DNA tests, blood spatter analysis, crime scene analysis, ballistic tests and many other crime related tests. The Botswana Police Service is currently heavily reliant on South Africa. Professor Totolo explained that for some of their projects BIUST will be partnering with other Government departments and parastatals to ensure their success. He said they intend to patent some of the students’ projects, incubate them and find a way to release them for mass production.
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Malawi appeals for help over Cyclone Freddy at PAP
As of yesterday evening, the death toll from the Cyclone in Malawi had risen from the initially reported 190 to 225 in a short period of time, over 20 000 people have been displaced, and the worst of fears are yet to come as the fatalities continue to mount. This was reported by a Malawi Member of Parliament attending the Pan African Parliament session in Midrand, South Africa, Hon Steven Mikiya.
Mikiya was giving a statement on behalf of Malawi as the ongoing Pan African Parliament in South Africa.
Mikiya said the Cyclone has wreaked the most havoc in our country’s Southern Region. “The Southern Region, has been hardest hit with widespread heavy rains and strong winds. This caused a rapid rise in water levels and subsequent flooding. Meanwhile, power supply has been disrupted, roads blocked off and rendered impassable and mudslides have also been widely reported,” he said.
He made a special appeal to the PAP: “Where I come from, there is a parable which I would like to share with you which says, “mzako weniweni umamudziwa panthawi ya mavuto.” Simply put, a friend in need is a friend indeed or put loosely, a person who helps at a difficult time is a friend you can rely on.”
Mikiya continued: “Yes! Misfortune has knocked on our door and left in its wake a trail of death and destruction that may take years to fully recover from. However, amidst these difficulties, I have every reason to believe that sometimes when you are in a dark place and think you have been buried, you have actually been planted. My belief, Mr. President, arises out of my faith in this gathering and out of the conviction that it is not coincidental that Cyclone Freddy hit Malawi and Mozambique while the delegations of both countries are here.”
According to Mikiya, the level of destruction, the loss of life, property and the decimation of the entire fabric of established communities has been unprecedented. He noted that all this, is coming at a time when Malawi was starting to show signs of recovery from the deadly COVID-19 pandemic that also came hard on the heels of Cyclone Ana and Cyclone Gombe that left a similar trail of devastation and destruction in Malawi and neighbouring countries.
As of Sunday, this week, from the 12th of March, Malawi and Mozambique have been facing the devastating effects of Cyclone Freddy that made a landfall over Mozambique on Saturday the 11th and reached Malawi by Sunday the 12th of March.
The Malawi legislator said he has absolute faith in the Pan African Parliament, which he described as “a league of nations brought together by a shared ancestry, history, identity as well as our beloved continent which we inhabit”.
Meanwhile, Malawi President, Lazarus Chakwera, has declared a State of Disaster in the affected areas effectively appealing for local and international support for the affected families.
Mikiya appealed to the Pan African Parliament drawing “positive” inspiration from Europe which rallied around Turkey after the destructive earthquakes to bring the much-needed relief and humanitarian aid to the people of Turkey.
He said Africa should demonstrate to the world that the African Union and its Organs are not mere talk shows, but effective institutions which stand up when it matters most.
“Alone, it may take us a lifetime to fully recover, but together, in the Pan-Africanist spirit of Ubuntu, our lives and livelihoods will return to a semblance of normality in record time. This is the time to live by our operative mantra, “One Africa, One Voice.” Mikiya concluded.