The 4th edition of Drone Technology conference also known as Drone Tecx is held in Lagos to showcase Nigeria’s prowess in that space. It attracted companies involved in drone technology with usage from various fields.
One of the thriving drone technology companies in Nigeria is Elint Systems.
Charlotte Essiet is MD/CEO of Elint Systems.
Essiet made it known to Energy Focus Report in an interview that the conference has improved with a lot of collaboration among stakeholders bringing innovation and advancement of technology to the country with ease of doing businesses and deliveries through the use of drones
According to her, there are lots to be done but Elint Systems is growing to greater heights.
Excerpts:
What can you say about Elint System?
Elint System is a UTM service provider. We’re open to transparent mobility as a service provider. For us in Nigeria, we’re able to work with the entire airspace. We work with Nigeria Airspace Management Authority (NAMA) and Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to be able to keep the airspace regulated and secure in terms of the margins or dimensions of the type of drones that should be flying.
With our technology, we’re able to map it up, and then we’ll open it up for E-commerce and medical deliveries, the way it should be anywhere in the world. Secondly, we are also operators of drone ports. Every drone must land on a port, what we call drone airport. We have different ones, the vette and techie parts, and smart stations.
The smart stations basically are for E-commerce where the drones land and you take your goods and it goes up again. For the vette part, any type of drone can land, but situated with QR codes that pull up the same technology that the drones will have. There is a command center which will call station and it is computerized and that also deals with the cool technologies that are pulled out for the drones.
Is Elint Systems new in the industry?
Elint System is four years old.
You were talking about diversification, have you diversified from the energy sector?
I have diversified from the energy sector, I had two decades of experience in the energy sector and for Elint Systems, it is basically technology. I’ve always been technology inclined. I’m an engineer by profession with two degrees in engineering background. For me it was basically moving from oil and gas to a new space. It’s fantastic experience.
Does Elint Systems have any value to provide for the oil and gas industry?
Of course we service everybody in the chain, the military, government, businesses, oil and gas, power, refineries and the medical industry.
What can you say about this drone tech conference?
I have been associated with the drone tech conference for three years. Three years ago, I came here as an observer. The second year I spoke about drone technology and this year I’m talking about AI in the drone technology for innovation, and I’m very happy for the growth we have had, this is our fourth conference and it’s grown bigger.
I have also spoken to the founder of the conference that we need to look for another space because in another two years, it’ll be bigger.
Don’t you think that drone is a threat because most advanced countries are using it for war; will people not see it as a technology used for attack?
There are different types of drones and regulations in various countries across the globe for different purposes. It is used for photography and recreation with good pictures. Drones cannot be categorized as a threat to anybody. For every drone, there is a usage and in the drone world, there are different uses.
No drone is a threat except it is meant for military purpose and it will be flown by military personnel with a classified person to do that on behalf of the military.
Has the country improved in terms of drone?
Of course we are better than where we’re coming from as a country. We can do better. There’s a lot of collaboration now, NCCA, National Security Adviser and other relevant agencies. So, there’s a lot of innovation and collaboration and of course we’re better than where we’re coming from.
What advice do you have for the government?
The government is you and I, therefore, let us all collaborate. The government and the public sector cannot do it alone; they need the private sector to make it work.
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