Airwards Winners Highlighting the Drone Industry
Movie stars, singers, and writers have the Oscars, Grammys, and Pulitzer, respectively, to recognize excellence in their craft.
While awards within the business community don’t often receive the same level of attention, they’re every bit as significant to the industries they acknowledge. Such accolades come with numerous benefits, and help to keep innovation thriving.
Did you know the drone industry has an award platform of its own? If you have never heard of Airwards, it’s time you do.
To highlight this year’s event, let’s take a look at what it’s all about, and highlight a few Airwards winners of interest.
What is Airwards?
In their own words, “Airwards has been created as the first global awards platform to recognize and champion positive use cases in the drone industry, across a multitude of sectors. We’re aiming to do this by finding innovative, responsible and real-world projects having a positive impact in their field and on the lives of people globally.”
Kicking off with the inaugural ceremony in 2020, each year, individuals, businesses, and groups are nominated by themselves or their peers. A panel of judges from around the world review the nominations and select the next Airwards winners.
For the 21/22 Airwards, a panel of 38 judges selected the final award winners. They came from Australia, Denmark, India, Ireland, Malawi, Mexico, Nepal, Senegal, South Africa, Eswatini, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, and Zambia – a truly international committee.
And, Consortiq is also proud to say our very own Managing Director, Gareth Beverley, was among the distinguished group of judges representing all corners of the UAV industry.
There are 23 categories of Airwards under the main categories of technology, operations, supporting services, industry/field, and giving back.
Airwards winners receive the recognition that their work in the drone industry is “changing human behaviour for good.”
Congratulations to all the winners! (For a complete list of 2021/22 Airward winners, continue reading below.)
While each of the Airwards recipients are deserving of praise, let’s look at a few in the operations and industry/field categories.
HEROTECH8
Focusing on their ‘Drone-In-a-Box’ solutions, HEROTECH8 received first place in the ‘Construction and Planning’ category.
Their-remote access solution removes the need for manual inspections on industrial sites, and offers lower costs, reduced time, and risk to personnel. With their unique software and hardware, they help provide automated flight possibilities at a reasonable price point, enabling more users than ever before. Not only that, but their systems are designed so that the pilot doesn’t even need to be on-site to fly their mission.
With a secure internet connection, the platforms can be accessed and used from anywhere in the world.
Whether for construction surveys, surveillance & security needs, emergency services, or safer infrastructure inspections, their remarkable progress in the field of drone-in-a-box solutions is playing a critical role in expanding UAV use cases.
Mirragin
With first place in the ‘Media, Events, and Creative’ category, Mirragin proved their UAV prowess for their incredible, record-breaking drone light show.
Their performance, featuring over 500 drones at the Elevate Sydney festival, signified that not only was Sydney back open for tourism, the city was also looking towards the future.
Mirragin’s collaboration with Intel & city officials proved to be a fantastic success. Not only was it incredibly beautiful, but the reusable, environmentally friendly show was able to communicate the story of Sydney’s past, present, and future to both residents and tourists alike.
Not only did the event create a path towards the use of drones as an alternative to fireworks, but it also set a critical precedent for the safe operations of drone swarms in tightly restricted urban spaces.
Mirragin demonstrated that even large-scale drone operations could be safely conducted in even the most hectic urban environments.
Flylogix
As climate change becomes a more critical issue, controlling methane gas emissions is more important than ever. In 2020, the oil and gas sector emitted more than 70 million tons (mt) of methane into the atmosphere.
While carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most commonly recognized greenhouse gas, it’s far from the worst. In fact, methane is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
And, one of the biggest sources of these emissions is offshore oil platforms.
Historically, menthane emissions from offshore oil rigs are difficult to monitor. They’re often in remote locations, and face challenges from both high winds, choppy seas, and dangerous working environments.
And, that’s where this year’s Airwards winner in the energy category comes in.
Flylogix has developed a drone-based system that works as a methane emission measurement service.
Their service is under global satellite control, doesn’t halt operations on the rig, and provides safe, real-time data… all without risking workers’ lives.
It’s an innovative UAV solution to a global problem, and one that should see plenty of interest in the years ahead.
Swoop Aero
Swoop Aero was recognized for its delivery operations, humanitarian aid, and disaster relief efforts.
The company provides a complete infrastructure for scalable and sustainable air logistics.
Its flagship Kite drone started by delivering medical supplies in remote areas. In no time, the drone demonstrated itself to be an ideal solution for a complex problem.
After proving successful for humanitarian missions, the drone and infrastructure confirmed their potential to address one of global logistics’ most significant challenges: the last mile problem. Now, they’re looking to better deliver critical goods & supplies (even emergency blood supplies!) over long distances, difficult terrain, and otherwise hard-to-reach regions.
Additionally, Swoop Aero maintains digital twins for each aircraft, and has developed industry-leading BVLOS expertise.
GLOBHE Drones
Each year, 241 million of malaria are reported worldwide. Tragically, over 600,000 of those infected will die.
The disease is a severe problem, caused by parasites transmitted through the bite of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
The medical and healthcare Airwards winner, GLOBHE Drones, is taking on this global problem.
With their Crowddroning software platform, GLOBHE Drones aims to limit disease outbreaks with data collected by drones on mosquito larval habitats. Essentially, the company crowd-sources freelance drone pilots in order to fulfill mission requests, such as mapping a specific area.
To aid the process, they also support and empower their entire network of freelance pilots.
Through their work, mosquito breeding ground hotspots are located faster and cheaper than ever before. Armed with that information, pest control managers and health officials are better able to target areas for mosquito control.
Vigilante Cares
In addition to the category winners, a list of shortlist winners is published for all entrants that the judge’s panel reviews.
I want to personally thank Airwards for selecting my nonprofit organization, Vigilante Cares, as part of this year’s shortlist.
Vigilante Cares uses drones as a therapeutic tool to help military veterans battle PTSD. Vigilante Cares is passionate about encouraging veterans in need to find their own peace through flight & support.
Congratulations to All Airwards Winners and Participants
Even though Airwards is a fairly new awards platform, it’s poised to become one of the most important drone awards organizations in the world.
With its international panel of judges and eye towards accelerating and highlighting industry achievements, it’s easily one of the most prestigious awards a UAV program can attain.
Congratulations again to everyone, and thank you to the organizers of Airwards for showcasing how drones help make our world a better place.
Technology (Software) – TechEagle Innovations, PlotBox
Technology (Sensors and Payload) – CENTUM Research & Technology
Operations (Survey and Inspection) – sees.ai
Operations (Delivery) – Swoop Aero
Operations (Airspace Management) – Queensland Uni. of Tech. (QUT)
Supporting Service (Training and Certification) – RPAS Training Academy
Supporting Services (Consultancy) – Hover UAV
Industry/Field (Medical and Healthcare) – GLOBHE Drones
Industry/Field (Media, Events and Creativity) – Mirragin
Industry/Field (Energy) – Flylogix
Industry/Field (Defense, Security and Surveillance) – ModalAI
Industry/Field (Construction and Planning) – HEROTECH8
Giving Back (Public Safety) – Cyberhawk
Giving Back (Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief) – Swoop Aero
Giving Back (Emergency Response and SAR) – Zipline
Giving Back (Education and Research) – Drone Legends
Giving Back (Conservation and Environment) – Wildlife Drones
People’s Choice – Aboubakar Karim, Tendai Pasipanodya, Dawn Zoldi, Malawi CAA, IG Drones
So, which drone is right for you? How do you get started? Should you start a drone program in-house, or hire out?
At Consortiq, we help you find a better way with drones, from consultation and program implementation to actually doing the work for you.
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David Daly - Contributing Author
David Daly, is an award-winning photographer/writer and licensed (FAA) Commercial sUAS pilot. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, David is a former Marine Corps officer with a BS in Oceanography and has earned his MBA from the University of Redlands. David has worked for Fortune 100 companies and has a background in aerospace, construction, military/defense, real estate, and technology.
