Release of Sterile Mosquitoes with Drones in Urban and Rural Environments under the European Drone Regulation

Abstract

In recent years, several countries have developed the use of sterile insect techniques (SIT) to fight against mosquitoes that transmit diseases. From a technical and economic point of view, the use of drones in the aerial release of sterile mosquitoes leads to important improvements in aerial coverage and savings in operational costs due to the requirement of fewer release sites and field staff. However, these operations are under the European drone regulation, one of the most advanced in the world. The main contribution and novelty of this paper with respect to previous work is the analysis of the SIT application with drones under the European risk-based regulation in two scenarios: urban and rural areas. The specific operations risk assessment (SORA) methodology has been applied to assess the risk of drone operations in these scenarios. The paper presents the operational requirements for aerial release of mosquitoes with drones along with the regulatory considerations that must be applied. Finally, an overview of the conditions in operation that could relax risks and mitigation measures is also discussed.

Risks of Drone Use in Light of Literature Studies

“…Some studies on the use of drones describe very interesting, although infrequent, situations such as: Fighting mosquitoes [ 183 ] or desert locusts [ 184 ]; Exploration of other planets, such as Mars [ 185 ]; Rehabilitation of birds of prey [ 186 ]; Herding wild horses into pens [ 187 ]. …”

Risk Analysis for Apple Orchard Survey and Monitoring Using Uav

“…Orchards (the source of the fruit industry chain) require site-specific or even individual-tree-specific management throughout the growing season-from flowering, fruitlet development, ripening, and harvest-to tree dormancy. The recent increase in research on deploying UAVs in orchard management has yielded new insights but challenges relating to determining the optimal approach (e.g., image-processing methods) are hampering widespread adoption, largely because there is no standard workflow for the application of UAVs in orchard management [7] but automation and precise orchard management not only brings more profits to growers but also reduces the damage to the environment [2].…”

Aerial Robotics for Inspection and Maintenance: Special Issue Editorial

“…Although the inspection and maintenance of industrial and civil infrastructures is one of the most immediate application areas of aerial robots, reference [11] extends the scope by proposing the application of drones for releasing sterilized insects, in order to prevent the increase in insect populations that could become vectors of disease transmission in urban and rural environments. Given the capabilities of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAVs), either fixed wing or rotary wing, to cover large areas following accurately desired paths in an autonomous way, the paper considers the current regulation challenges in Europe and risk assessment when flying over populated environments, particularly when the drone operates beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS).…”