Parrot providing Human Rights Watch with UAS and technical support

May 4, 2020 | AUVSI News

In support of Human Rights Watch’s mission of investigating human rights abuses around the world, Parrot has announced that it will provide the organization with its ANAFI drones and advanced software and technical support to help it accomplish its goals. 

As part of a Human Rights Watch investigation into ISIS atrocities in northern Syria, Parrot recently provided its ANAFI drones and on-call support for piloting and technical assistance. The UAS helped capture aerial imagery and 3D data of the al-Hota gorge near Raqqa, which is a suspected mass grave site used by ISIS. Due to the dangerous terrain and steep cliffs of al-Hota, drones were the safest way to capture imagery at the bottom of the gorge.

Using data captured by the UAS, a 3D topographical model of the al-Hota gorge was created with the software Pix4D Mapper. According to Parrot, these 3D maps may be used to further investigate below the surface of the water.

“Human Rights Watch is doing incredibly important work around the world,” says Henri Seydoux, chairman and CEO of Parrot.

“We are honored to push the boundaries of how our technologies can be applied to help them in their missions.”

Parrot notes that this is the second mission it has supported with advanced drone technology and software.