India Flying Labs Newsletters 2019

1. Newsletter Q3 2019
Drones and Data in Disasters workshop
Cyclones and Floods
responses
A diverse group of participants from Odisha, Bangalore, and
Mumbai signed up for the workshop held at the end of August.
Facilitated by Dr. Ruchi Saxena and Rakesh Ranjan, the
workshop included all practical aspects of using drones and data
in disasters, including the Humanitarian UAV Code of Conduct,
national and international laws and best practices, rapid
assessment tools, open maps, and mission management. Ashish
Malviya from Mumbai gave the group a demonstration of drone
flights and the use of thermal imagery. We gave hands-on
exercises on Google Maps, Google Earth, Open Street Maps,
HOTOSM, Pix4D, Picterra, and Drone Deploy. Several other
open source applications were presented. The floor was left open
for scale-up strategies, and we are glad that each participant
stood up to shoulder the responsibility of working towards
promoting the ethical use of drones and data and showed a keen
interest in learning this technology in many details.
We are humbled by the response and support received from the
people of Odisha and look forward to working on hundreds of
projects conceived by the young local leaders to create the
ecosystem necessary for the application of drones for social good
in Odisha.
Read more at
https://blog.werobotics.org/2019/09/06/empowering-odishas-
local-leaders-to-use-drones-data-in-disasters/
The drone teams associated with India
Flying Labs had actively helped the 2019
flood and cyclone situations in various
parts of India.
In August, Maharashtra, Laxman
Aroskar, and Ramesh Majhwar
(DroneAge) helped when the long-
distance train Mahanagri Express was
stuck near Mumbai, and the passengers
needed rescue. Their drone shots
helped the locals better understand
possible exit routes. They also assisted
Global Futures Network and Relief Earth
in Sangli in Maharashtra where more
than 30 volunteers from Mumbai and
Pune assembled overnight to support
the local government and NDRF teams
in the rescue missions. Also in August,
Punjab, JungleWorks conducted a drone
survey at District Jalandhar and helped
local relief teams from NDRF and the
military to identify and locate people
trapped inside their homes. The team
also assessed the structural damage
and total area affected by the floods. We
are actively working on strengthening
our local drone disaster response
system by inducting and training local
teams and forming local chapters of UAV
Rapid Response Task Force. We have
already conducted workshops in Mumbai
and Bhubaneshwar. And we are
planning to scale up these programs in
other vulnerable areas.
Read more at
https://blog.werobotics.org/2019/10/01/c
yclones-and-floods-kept-india-flying-
labs-on-its-toes/

2. Newsletter April, 2019
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Other activities
International Conference on
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
for a Sustainable Belt and Road
Region, Bangkok: This conference
aims to raise the discussion on how
entrepreneurship, technology and
innovation can be harnessed to
achieve a sustainable and inclusive
Belt and Road Region. Dr. Ruchi of
India Flying Labs was invited to
participate in the panel ''Sustainable
and Resilient health services'' on the
6th of September. She spoke about
about how drones are contributing to
social sector and how a healthcare
drone project can be implemented.
Photo Gallery
Our teams that helped in Maharashtra floods some days
back were felicitated with Hero Plus Award for their bravery
and humanitarian spirit on 28th of August
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Solutions,
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Ashokvan, Mumbai 400066
During Drones and Data in Disasters workshop: participants
discussing the ethical use of drones and data
India Flying Labs did a presentation
during a workshop with the Indian
Institute of Science on 18th of
September. The workshop was
hosted by the Department of
Aerospace Engineering on
Emergency Flood Planning and
Management Using Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles. The topic of the
presentation was Localizing Drone-
based Disaster Response.

3. Newsletter Q2 2019
Co-creation workshop: Building Sustainable
Futures with Drones and AI
Drone demonstration in
the wake of Cyclone Fani
On May 16-17 2019, more than 80 participants from all across
India came together at the Department of Management Studies
at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi for the workshop on
‘Co-creating Sustainable Futures with Drones and AI'. This
impressive group was composed of thought leaders,
researchers, academics, innovators, technology service
providers, nonprofit organizations, officials from government
bodies, and students, all of whom had assembled to brainstorm
how drones and AI can be utilized for social applications—
sustainable agriculture, nature conservation, disaster
management healthcare, sustainable development and youth
empowerment.
The participants discussed the challenges that might be solved
using drones and AI in three different sectors of ‘Nature
Conservation and Sustainable Development’, ‘Agriculture and
Youth Empowerment,’ and ‘Disasters and Healthcare.’ They
also elaborated on use-cases and the value of drones and data
in these specific contexts.
All agreed that the workshop had been such a success that it
should be replicated in locations across India, in partnership
with various host institutions and delving into specific topics.
Read more at: https://blog.werobotics.org
Upcoming events
Course on Agricultural drones with Rudraksche
Course on Healthcare drones with WeSchool
Orissa State RRTF Workshop
Presentation at Global Inclusive Disaster Management
Conference 2019
Dates: May 20-27 2019
Location: District Puri, Orissa
Partners: Humanitarian Aid
International, Cenrtre for Youth
and Sustainable Development,
Integrated Volunteers Network,
Pixlaer, Technology for Wildlife,
Caerobotics, Drone Task Force
India, Directorate of Horticulture
Last February, India Flying Labs
announced the creation of ‘UAV
Rapid Response Task Force’. We
witnessed the need for this program,
and the potential of it to play a critical
role in disaster response, firsthand
when Cyclone Fani bore down on
Odisha in the east coast of India. We
met with Odisha State Government
officials and were granted permission
to fly the drone over two villages in
Puri district and collect data about
cyclone damages and losses,
particularly horticulture and housing.
We explored the area, witnessing the
storm’s impact on mud houses,
livestock, and boats, and connected
with local communities.
India Flying Labs offered to create a
chapter on local drones before the
next cyclone season. We will also
launch training programs and
workshops with the help of local
NGOs to strengthen our efforts in
Odisha state.
Read more at:
https://blog.werobotics.org

4. Newsletter April, 2019
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Other activities
World Environment Day
Celebrations at Ambdos village in
Malvan were conducted using drones
to explain and propose water
conservation activities in the area.
Partners: Laxman Aroskar from
DroneAge and SkyMotion, Anup
Malandkar from Bhramar, Nikhil
Methiya from DroneLab, Prashant
Soni from Aerial Ads, Anupriya Goyal
and Himanshu Tyagi from IIT Delhi
and Dr. Ruchi Saxena from India
Flying Labs.
We were invited to present at the 1st
International Conference on
Unmanned Aerial Systems in
Geomatics Conference 2019 (UASG
2019).
Date: Apr 06-07 2019
Location: IIT Roorkee, Greater Noida
Campus
The aim of UASG 2019 is to bring
together experts in photogrammetry
and remote sensing, surveying,
robotics, computer vision, artificial
intelligence, aerospace engineering,
geosciences and various UAS user
communities.
UASG 2019 was a great opportunity
to learn about the most recent
developments and to exchange views
on the future directions of UAS in
geomatics research, applications and
services.
Photo Gallery
During drone demonstration in Odisha State in the wake of
Cyclone Fani
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Solutions,
C701, Sai Shraddha Phase 1,
Ashokvan, Mumbai 400066
During the co-creation workshop: participants discussing the
challenges that might be solved using drones and AI

5. Newsletter Q1 2019
Supporting the tribal youth leaders collective Data support for research
India Flying Labs is working with Global Futures Network to
support the formation of a tribal youth leaders collective to take
up community-based tech-supported projects in Dahanu-
Palghar region in Maharashtra.
We recently did a demonstration with the youth leaders and
they would love the idea of being able to use drones and data
analytics for their farms. They would be extending their
innovation toolbox not only to drones, but also soil and water
sensors, drip irrigation, plant-based remedies, aquaponics and
hydroponics, bio-waste composters and farming automations.
India Flying Labs is supporting their initiative by providing
technical knowledge support and connecting them with agro-
innovators.
In the long run, we would be able to help make the farming
practices in these districts more sustainable and profitable by
empowering the local champions with tools that they need. We
would replicate this model in other locations that we will be
working on.
Upcoming events
We will be organising Co-creation workshop on 23-24-25
May 2019 along with WeRobotics on 'Co-creating
Sustainable Futures with Drones and AI'. We invite
participation from key stakeholders in agriculture, nature
conservation, healthcare, disaster management and
sustainable development for intensive brainstorming and idea
sharing for a transformative ecosystem development
exercise.
Bundelkhand has been tormented
with inevitable severe draught and
pushed the once-flourishing
villages into extreme poverty.
Severe deforestation coupled with
illegal mining has been blamed for
the present state of the climate
change in the region.
We will be working with a group of
researchers from the universities in
the area to study the impact, extent
and root causes of this disaster.
We would support their research
using remote sensing data from
satellites and mapping drones.

6. Newsletter April, 2019
UAV rapid response task
force for disasters
We are about to form a multi-
stakeholder UAV Rapid Response
Task Force for Disasters.
This task force will be formed of a
roster of teams from different parts of
the country with diverse skill sets.
They would be trained in using UAVs
during and after disasters, organising
and communicating through guided
SOPs, oriented around Humanitarian
UAV Code of Conduct.
We would create essential
communications with key stakeholder
community so that we can respond
within hours or days from disasters
and be prepared with the necessary
tools and equipment ready to be
deployed during emergencies.
Photo Gallery
Drone demonstration at a farm in Bordi
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1st Consultation Meeting on UAV Rapid
Response Take Force for Disasters
India Flying Labs team
c/o Caerobotics Healthcare
Solutions,
C701, Sai Shraddha Phase 1,
Ashokvan, Mumbai 400066