EagleHawk provides effective solution for disinfecting large venues against COVID-19
Originally published on InterDrone on May 21, 2020
EagleHawk has recently developed a safe and effective method for disinfecting large areas, including sports stadiums, against COVID-19. The company is using disinfectant chemicals approved by the EPA and New York DEC. They will continue to evaluate new solutions as they’re released by the EPA. While stay-at-home orders are extended until the end of the month in many states, it could be as early as summer when people begin to reconvene in large groups at venues – both indoor and outdoor.
This deadly virus will permanently change the nature of public gatherings going forward. Many people won’t feel secure attending an event of any size unless they know the area has been thoroughly disinfected. Hiring a crew of people to thoroughly disinfect large areas by hand is far too costly and time consuming. A helicopter couldn’t get in close enough proximity. This is where drones provide the best solution.
“Many of our clients are responsible for keeping their facilities safe and clean, especially during these unprecedented times,” said EagleHawk COO Will Schulmeister. “As engineers and innovators, we’re thankful that we’re able to adjust our services and solutions to fight against the coronavirus so our clients – and their clients – can feel safe and stay healthy as we work together to combat this deadly virus.”
“We used a set up of two custom drones, one equipped with high powered spray nozzles and a second customized drone to help manage the hose carrying solution up to the aircraft,” Schulmeister explains to InterDrone. “Off the shelf spray drone systems were designed for agriculture so we had to engineer a solution that met the needs for efficacy requirements for disinfection of viruses like SARS-CoV-2,” he continues about customizing the ideal solution.
I got the opportunity to catch up with EagleHawk COO to get more information on how the company was started. Those interested in adding COVID-19 disinfecting to their drone services business should read the interview that follows below this article.
DJI has been supplying drones to municipalities through their Disaster Relief Program to help combat coronavirus. Service providing protection against contracting the virus or only going to increase. It’s important, however, to make sure that the drone services business hired is using best practices. “While EagleHawk has engineered an effective drone solution to help disinfect large-scale facilities, we also caution companies to be weary of providers who are offering a service using off-the-shelf spraying drones, which were designed for agricultural use and are not suitable for disinfection purposes,” said EagleHawk CEO Patrick Walsh.
“Unfortunately, we have seen a number of companies recently begin to market such drone-enabled disinfection services using these agriculture drones, promising results that they won’t be able to deliver.” To that end, Walsh encourages venue owners to hire companies working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and their state’s Department of Environmental Conservation.