Moving Students with New Tech
Drones are being used to move students around our large campus…
Our youngest students will soon be zipping across campus faster than they ever expected. Bangkok Patana School is pleased to unveil an ultra high-tech project that has been in the works for two years, involving cross-functional teams throughout the campus. The school will use specially built drones to move its youngest students across the large campus, incorporating AI tools and biometric identification to ensure students are picked up and dropped off in the correct locations.
“We love our large campus, but we are challenged by time restraints whenever we want to take our Foundation Stage students, who are only three and four years old, to visit other parts of the campus,” said Sophie Riley, Leader of Learning and Welfare in Foundation Stage. “I was absolutely thrilled when Craig told me we finally had a breakthrough,” she said.
Craig White, Business Director, explained, “The biggest challenge we had was getting technology that could integrate with the drone management systems to get students to the correct place. During the testing some students were deposited onto incorrect landing zones, but we are now ready to roll out the programme.”
“The well-being and safety of our children was our first consideration,” said Chris Sammons, Head of School, “We now have a harness that is the safest in the market. These harnesses have been adapted especially for children 3 – 5 years of age and comes from same technology used by fighter jet pilots. The drones will be low flying and will follow designated ‘flying corridors’ through the campus.”
With Foundation Stage (FS) being the biggest user group, a Drone Zone has been set up in the play area. Drones will be managed by the Transport Department, as the long-term plan is to be able to offer drone transport as commuting option for younger students in the Bangna area. Transport Department staff are getting certified in managing the drones and have been testing their skills with our students already.
The full programme will be launched at the start of Term 3 and Foundation Stage parents will receive more documentation and information on the programme. However, if you have immediate questions or any concerns about the programme, please email the head of school directly.
Hope you have a Happy April Fool’s Day!
