The Autodesk Foundation, created to support the development of innovative solutions to social and environmental challenges around the world, has teamed up with Switzerland-based NGO (non-governmental organization) WeRobotics for the purpose of using robotics to help humanitarian and social missions.
Recently, to collaborate with the United Nations Agency (IAEA), WeRobotics teamed up with Moscamed, a Brazilian partner, and tested a new tool to contain the spread of the Zika virus in the city of Juazeiro (BA).
The action consisted of distributing, by means of drones, 280,000 male mosquitoes sterilized by radiation so that, scattered in nature, they could not produce offspring and, thus, reduce the population of insects capable of transmitting and spreading diseases.
The use of drones developed and adapted for this action made the action more efficient and productive, since, before, this process was manual.
Using data in the pilot project in Juazeiro, the team will continue testing and expanding this technique to rural and urban areas over the next six months. "WeRobotics is using robotics and design technologies to create positive impact," said Joe Speicher, executive director of the Autodesk Foundation. “The Juazeiro project enables our Autodesk vision to imagine, design and create a better world.”
The Autodesk Foundation supports WeRobotics through financial and software donations, such as Autodesk Inventor, essential for the mechanical and simulation design of its drones.
“Autodesk technology allows us to accelerate our design and interaction process, and helps us bring vector control technology to the service of underserved communities in Brazil and around the world,” says Adam Klaptocz, co-founder of WeRobotics.
The next WeRobotics projects, supported by the Autodesk Foundation, are expected to take place in Central America in the coming months.
EN 
PT 
