Morocco Sees Rise in Demand over Drones to Help Tackle Coronavirus

Morocco has relied on heavy surveillance to enforce a strict lockdown, attracting criticism from the United Nations Human Rights Office - AFP
Morocco has relied on heavy surveillance to enforce a strict lockdown, attracting criticism from the United Nations Human Rights Office - AFP
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Morocco Sees Rise in Demand over Drones to Help Tackle Coronavirus

Morocco has relied on heavy surveillance to enforce a strict lockdown, attracting criticism from the United Nations Human Rights Office - AFP
Morocco has relied on heavy surveillance to enforce a strict lockdown, attracting criticism from the United Nations Human Rights Office - AFP

Morocco has seen a rapid rise in demand for drones amid it battles against the novel coronavirus pandemic, deploying them for aerial surveillance, public service announcements and sanitisation.

"This is a real craze. In just weeks, demand has tripled in Morocco and other countries in the region," said Yassine Qamous, chief of Droneway Maroc, African distributor for leading Chinese drone company DJI.

In recent weeks, authorities have employed drones to issue warnings, identify suspicious movement in the streets and disperse illegal rooftop and balcony gatherings.

Moroccan firms have been using drones for years and according to Qamous, it "is among the most advanced countries in Africa" for unmanned flight, with a dedicated industrial base, researchers and qualified pilots.

However, restrictive regulations have long limited civilian drones to specific applications such as filming, agriculture, monitoring solar panels and mapping, AFP reported.

That changed rapidly as the fatal pandemic swept across the world.

Last week local authorities in Temara, a town near the capital Rabat, launched a high-precision aerial surveillance system developed by local company Beti3D, which previously specialized in aerial mapping.

Other countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East have also adopted technology deployed in China since the start of the pandemic, whether for tracking the movements of citizens, disinfecting public spaces or facilitating deliveries.

"Drones have quickly emerged as a vital technology for public safety agencies during this crisis as they can safely monitor public spaces," according to the website of DJI, by far the world's top drone maker.

Like most countries, Morocco primarily uses imported Chinese drones. But the emergence of new applications linked to the pandemic is also driving local production of specialized aerial vehicles.

"There is real demand," said Abderrahmane Krioual, the head of Farasha, a startup that has raised funds to produce drones for thermal surveillance and aerial disinfectant spraying.

The aeronautics department of the International University of Rabat (UIR) offered its facilities, expertise and prototypes to authorities in March, deploying drones with loudspeakers or infrared cameras able to detect movement at night or spot individuals with high temperatures.

Several projects are underway across the country ahead of the widespread deployment of various models of drones, said Mohsine Bouya, the university's director of technology development and transfer.



China Space Station Crew Returns to Earth after 6 Months in Space

 A Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for a crewed mission to China's Tiangong space station, near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China October 30, 2024. (Reuters)
A Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for a crewed mission to China's Tiangong space station, near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China October 30, 2024. (Reuters)
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China Space Station Crew Returns to Earth after 6 Months in Space

 A Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for a crewed mission to China's Tiangong space station, near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China October 30, 2024. (Reuters)
A Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center for a crewed mission to China's Tiangong space station, near Jiuquan, Gansu province, China October 30, 2024. (Reuters)

Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Monday after a six-month stay on the Tiangong space station, part of China’s effort to be a global leader in space exploration.

A parachute slowed their capsule's nighttime descent to a remote landing area in China's Inner Mongolia region. The crew emerged after touching down at 1:24 a.m. A Chinese national flag stuck in the ground near the capsule flapped in the wind.

In recent years, the country's space program has brought back rocks from the moon and landed a rover on Mars. It aims to put a person on the moon by 2030, which would make China the second nation after the United States to do so.

The space station astronauts returned after welcoming a replacement three-person crew last week for the latest six-month mission. The new team of one woman and two men will conduct experiments, carry out spacewalks and install equipment to protect the station from space debris.

A space agency official said in April that Tiangong had maneuvered several times to avoid debris and had partially lost power when the solar wing's power cables were hit by debris, according to a report from the official Xinhua News Agency.

China is among the countries that have created space debris, including the reported break-up of a rocket stage in August during the launch of the first 18 satellites for a global internet service similar to Starlink, the still-growing constellation of satellites operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Tiangong, which means Heavenly Palace, was completed two years ago and orbits the earth.

Only Chinese astronauts have gone to the space station so far, but a space agency spokesperson said last week that China is in discussions to select and train astronauts from other nations to join the missions, Xinhua reported.

Astronauts from several nations have traveled to the International Space Station, but China is blocked from that program mainly because of US concerns over the military's involvement in China's space program.

China laid out an ambitious plan last month to become a leader in space science research by 2050 in conjunction with its advances in space exploration.