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The United Arab Emirates “Drones for Good” Award

dronesforgood.ae

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Re: The United Arab Emirates “Drones for Good” Award

#21

Post by Theodores »

"All semi-finalists of the International competition will receive $5,000 USD to develop and improve their prototype."

Realistically, that means a consumer grade drone. (So no grand ideas for re-purposing one of those drones that can fly from an island in the Indian Ocean, loiter for a few hours and then, under the guidance of some teenager in Florida, send a missile into some wedding party in the tribal areas of Pakistan.)

What is the range of a ~$5K drone? Payload? Battery life? Knowing these approximate parameters would be quite useful for putting one's thinking cap on. If anyone has a good idea, with payload and without payload, that could be helpful.

Re: The United Arab Emirates “Drones for Good” Award

#23

Post by nraford »

bri3d wrote: post #15

There's no mention anywhere on the page, as far as I can tell, of what happens to your IP. The second stage of the contest requires showing extremely detailed plans to a "panel of judges from around the world." Even though the goal of the project is indeed noble, I don't see anyone but students entering without an explanation of how the IP works. A working setup for a drone with globally applicable humanitarian missi…

Hi, my name is Dr. Noah Raford and I am part of the competition's organising committee (proof: http://ae.linkedin.com/pub/dr-noah-raford/1/a68/4a0 More proof: http://noahraford.com/?page_id=370).

This is a really important point. Thanks so much for bringing it up.

All contestants in the competition will retain their IP for their submission. The government retains no right to the ideas submitted, nor does any other third party. If someone submits an idea using public or Creative Commons licensed IP, that IP will stay with its original owner. We'll be clarifying that on the website shortly.

We really appreciate your interest. We are working to make this award as useful as possible for stimulating conversation and innovation in this area. Thanks again.

Re: The United Arab Emirates “Drones for Good” Award

#24

Post by azinman2 »

nraford wrote: post #23
bri3d wrote: post #15

There's no mention anywhere on the page, as far as I can tell, of what happens to your IP. The second stage of the contest requires showing extremely detailed plans to a "panel of judges from around the world." Even though the goal of the project is indeed noble, I don't see anyone but students entering without an explanation of how the IP works. A working setup for a drone with globally applicable humanitarian missi…

Hi, my name is Dr. Noah Raford and I am part of the competition's organising committee (proof: http://ae.linkedin.com/pub/dr-noah-raford/1/a68/4a0 More proof: http://noahraford.com/?page_id=370 ). This is a really important point. Thanks so much for bringing it up. All contestants in the competition will retain their IP for their submission. The government retains no right to the ideas submitted, nor does any other t…

What is the motivation for this by the UAE then?

Re: The United Arab Emirates “Drones for Good” Award

#25

Post by azth »

Justsignedup wrote: post #12

"Wife hunter" it's a drone / iphone app that lets the drone scour the city for another potential wife of the Sheikh. It will then stalk the girl, and send a notification to the Sheikh which if he so choses will both tranquilize her and dispatch his private attack fleet to airlift her to his 180 meter yacht where they will both be served caviar and arranged marriage contracts.

Wow, bigotry and hatred much?

Re: The United Arab Emirates “Drones for Good” Award

#26

Post by bri3d »

nraford wrote: post #23
bri3d wrote: post #15

There's no mention anywhere on the page, as far as I can tell, of what happens to your IP. The second stage of the contest requires showing extremely detailed plans to a "panel of judges from around the world." Even though the goal of the project is indeed noble, I don't see anyone but students entering without an explanation of how the IP works. A working setup for a drone with globally applicable humanitarian missi…

Hi, my name is Dr. Noah Raford and I am part of the competition's organising committee (proof: http://ae.linkedin.com/pub/dr-noah-raford/1/a68/4a0 More proof: http://noahraford.com/?page_id=370 ). This is a really important point. Thanks so much for bringing it up. All contestants in the competition will retain their IP for their submission. The government retains no right to the ideas submitted, nor does any other t…

Thanks! I know a few people running small drone businesses here in the US. It seems that with this policy there's no obvious downside to entering. I'll point them your way!

Re: The United Arab Emirates “Drones for Good” Award

#27

Post by dronehire »

Theodores wrote: post #21

"All semi-finalists of the International competition will receive $5,000 USD to develop and improve their prototype." Realistically, that means a consumer grade drone. (So no grand ideas for re-purposing one of those drones that can fly from an island in the Indian Ocean, loiter for a few hours and then, under the guidance of some teenager in Florida, send a missile into some wedding party in the tribal areas of Paki…

>What is the range of a ~$5K drone? Payload? Battery life? Knowing these approximate parameters would be quite useful for putting one's thinking cap on. If anyone has a good idea, with payload and without payload, that could be helpful.

The answers to your questions depend firstly on the type of drone: multicopter or fixed-wing. With a multicopter you are looking at a maximum flight time of around 30 minutes, give or take depending upon numerous variables such as the payload and specific application (for example, hovering in one place uses less power than moving around). The payload capacity of a ~$5K multicopter would be in the order of 10 - 15kg, although carrying anywhere near this weight would severely limit the flight time.

A similarly-priced fixed-wing drone could stay aloft a lot longer and also have a greater payload capacity - the downside is the inability to hover or do vertical take-off and landing.

There are of course hybrid designs, usually tilt-rotors, that attempt to get the best of both worlds.

Re: The United Arab Emirates “Drones for Good” Award

#28

Post by dang »

dfc wrote: post #19
dang wrote: post #14

We changed the url from http://www.dronehire.org/blog/uae-government-announce-one-mi... , which was lifted from this one. Submitters: HN prefers original sources. When there's an obvious one, please post it instead.

I imagine that it is a pain to add these addendums whenever you change the title. For what it is worth I am extremely grateful of the effort. It takes some of the confusion out of things and most importantly it gets everything out in the open.

Thanks! It's a pain, but I think we can eventually (semi-)automate it.

Re: The United Arab Emirates “Drones for Good” Award

#29

Post by nraford »

bri3d wrote: post #26
nraford wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi, my name is Dr. Noah Raford and I am part of the competition's organising committee (proof: http://ae.linkedin.com/pub/dr-noah-raford/1/a68/4a0 More proof: http://noahraford.com/?page_id=370 ). This is a really important point. Thanks so much for bringing it up. All contestants in the competition will retain their IP for their submission. The government retains no right to the ideas submitted, nor does any other t…

Thanks! I know a few people running small drone businesses here in the US. It seems that with this policy there's no obvious downside to entering. I'll point them your way!

Thanks, please do!

Re: The United Arab Emirates “Drones for Good” Award

#30

Post by nraford »

azinman2 wrote: post #24
nraford wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi, my name is Dr. Noah Raford and I am part of the competition's organising committee (proof: http://ae.linkedin.com/pub/dr-noah-raford/1/a68/4a0 More proof: http://noahraford.com/?page_id=370 ). This is a really important point. Thanks so much for bringing it up. All contestants in the competition will retain their IP for their submission. The government retains no right to the ideas submitted, nor does any other t…

What is the motivation for this by the UAE then?

Short answer from the website: "The first of its kind and scale, the Award is dedicated to transforming these exciting technologies into practical solutions for improving people’s lives today."

Slightly longer answer: Most of these technologies have been used for military and security applications to date. Those are important, but things are developing so rapidly and become so much less expensive (Moore's Law) that incredible new uses are becoming possible every day. The Award is about stimulating creative thinking about how to apply their potential for positive social application.

TL;DR: There is a important conversation to be had around adapting these applications to the public good. This requires imagination, leadership, and public support. That is what this award is about. Hope that answers your question.

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