Launch Your Own Flying Labs!

We're excited to announce the launch of our Flying Labs Affiliate Program, and we're equally thrilled to announce the first 2 affiliate Flying Labs to join our global network: Kenya Flying Labs and Dominican Republic Flying Labs! These new labs will join our existing network of Flying Labs in Nepal, Tanzania, Peru and the South Pacific. As announced earlier, we'll also be launching new labs in Senegal and Panama. We expect to have around 12 Flying Labs by the end of 2018, thus tripling the number of labs we had in 2017.

Why introduce the affiliate program now?

We have actively field-tested our Flying Labs framework for 2 years across 3 continents. We learned 3 important lessons during this time. First, there is extensive demand across the globe for our Flying Labs. Second, our current (institutional) Flying Labs model is not the only way to establish new Flying Labs. Third, a more scalable Flying Labs model is key to growing the network and scaling our global impact. We are now ready to democratize our Flying Labs framework by introducing our affiliate program. It is our hypothesis that both models—Institutional and Affiliate Flying Labs—will reinforce each other and create important new synergies between labs and across the global network.

Why join the global Flying Labs network?

Organizations that seek to launch their own Flying Labs bring institutional expertise and experience to the global network. They have already carried out trainings and projects and already have relevant drone technology and software. In addition, they already have some strategic partnerships in place. To this end, these organizations typically seek to join the Flying Labs network for the purposes of being connected to a unique, global network; a trusted brand that has both international visibility and credibility. They seek the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with other Flying Labs around the world who are at the cutting edge of deploying appropriate robotics technologies. By joining the Flying Labs network, organizations also get priority access to WeRobotics trainings and Flying Labs trainings. Some seek to launch their own Flying Labs to leverage new strategic partnerships with WeRobotics’ partners, including international organizations and industry such as leading drone/robotics companies and software companies. For example, joining the global Flying Labs network can provide new labs with free access to leading software platforms such as ESRI's Drone2Map and discounts on select hardware solutions. Some organizers also value the affiliation for new fundraising opportunities and the ability to use the affiliation to bring their expertise to other countries and partners. Flying Labs organizers are also invited to speak at the annual WeRobotics Global Conference and have access to the WeRobotics Global Roster of Experts, which includes several hundred professionals across the global who have expertise directly relevant to the Flying Labs.

How to apply for a Flying Labs license?

All the information on our Affiliate Program along with the application form is available here. Readers familiar with the TED conference will see similarities between our affiliate model and their TEDx model. This is because we customized and expanded the TEDx model to develop our own.