UAS use durring a virus epidemic

Introduction

When the world is in a lockdown, limiting where the public may go and what they can do many people sit around bored with nothing to do. As something as simple as physical contact becomes something to spread fear its a struggle for some to get the things they need and in a timely manner. As many people have and use drones they can also be something used to just enjoy the lack of people around. As safety is the number one concern bystanders walking around a busy city would make it a very dangerous flight, something that a quarantine produces is a distinct lack of people out on what would be busy streets allowing for some creative drone footage that otherwise wouldn't have been able to be captured.

Deliveries

As mentioned earlier being locked inside all day every day does create some issues. As food supplies run out and simple necessities run out a quarantined citizen will be forced to head out into the infected world. A way to elevate this and minimize the spread of disease would be getting your products delivered, although this also has its own effects. The logistics of getting vehicles to homes with the supplies that are needed while also not being used to spread the infection can be challenging and many companies have sprung up attempting to do this. The benefit of using something like a drone is the ability to fly the supplies to people in need with 0 human interaction. This allows for a minimal chance of the disease to be spread while still allowing for the needs of citizens to be met. As many commercial drones are smaller with limited lifting capabilities, this has become more of a trend on social media to just deliver a note or roll of toilet paper and not real necessities but is definite proof of concept for what the future will hold.

Deserted City Footage

As everyone is locked in and forced to stay at home some of the most crowded places are finally empty. This is one of the biggest concerns when flying a drone as no one wants a drone to fall out of the sky onto someone. With this deserted appearance to the cities, it can create a surreal experience while still allowing the pilot to have a safe flight with minimal people below. 

Tracking infected and uninfected

As some cities got hit by COVID differently they all have used drones differently. The Chinese government had drones up with thermal imaging cameras in order to track people with elevated body temperature, a known symptom of COVID. Some US cities are using them in a slightly different way by attaching loudspeakers to the platforms and using them to shame people out breaking the quarantine.

Silly Tasks

As mentioned drones can also provide some enjoyment when hit with the quarantine boredom wave. People are using them to keep a safe distance but also socialize. Some attach notes and fly them to people on balconies while others used them to walk their dogs while not breaking quarantine. The possibilities to use drones to help with this quarantine boredom are only limited by the imagination of the pilot.