Drones vs mosquitoes: fighting malaria in Malawi
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Find out how scientists are using drones to help stop the spread of malaria.
By Andrew Brown
KASUNGU, Malawi, 7 September 2018 – In the middle of a muddy field next to a reservoir in north-western Malawi, a team of scientists are hard at work. Boxes of equipment lie scattered around a patch of dry ground, where a scientist programmes an automated drone flight into a laptop perched on a metal box. The craggy peak of Linga Mountain (‘watch from afar’ in the local language) looms over the lake, casting its reflection in the water.
With a high-pitched whirr of rotor blades, the drone takes off and starts following the shoreline, taking photos as it goes. Once the drone is airborne, the team switch from high-tech to low-tech mode. They collect ladles, rulers and plastic containers and squelch through mud until they reach the water’s edge.
The scientists measure the water depth with a ruler and carefully ladle water into the containers. Using a mobile app, they record the GPS location of ...
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