Active Programmes and Projects
| Project/programme | Status | PI/lead | Funding/Resource Basis | Period | Collaborators | Key outputs/Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lusaka City-Wide Open Drone Mapping Website: https://hotosm.org | Active | Dr P. H. Nyimbili (PI); NACUAS | HOT and partners | 2026-ongoing | HOT; PPHPZ; ZHPPF; SDI; MLGRD | Community-led high-resolution mapping and data-use development for urban planning, drainage, infrastructure, housing, green space and resilience. |
| NACUAS Level 1 Introductory Drone Technology, Data Processing and Governance | Advanced / rollout pending | UAS leadership multidisciplinary culum team | UNZA / DRD support | 2026 | DRD; curriculum experts; visiting scholars | Self-paced foundational pathway: Unit 0 plus Units 1-11; Wood-Bronze-Silver-Gold-Platinum evidence stages; Q3 ZNSDI alignment. |
| Three-rotor VTOL UAS prototype | Design complete/funding sought | TerraNova Lab / NACUAS | Internal development; funding sought | 2026-ongoing | NACUAS; student/faculty innovation team | Local UAS design and manufacturing research; preliminary engineering design and SolidWorks assembly completed; fabrication/testing dependent on funding. |
| Eco-Guardian Mobile Acoustic AI | Prototype/validation pipeline | TerraNova Lab / NACUAS | Research/innovation support; further field funding sought | 2026-ongoing | Relevant conservation, wildlife and technical partners to be confirmed | AI-enabled acoustic surveillance for forest ecosystems and biodiversity; field validation subject to approvals and partner coordination. |
| ZUBA-Soil Sense | Innovation / IP pipeline | TerraNova Lab / innovation team | Innovation funding / commercialisation pipeline | 2026-ongoing | UNZA innovation/IP ecosystem; prospective agri-tech partners | Rapid soil sensing and smart monitoring for crop planning, soil health and irrigation; IP and business/pilot preparation progressed in Q3. |
Strategic Partnership / Pilot Pipeline
| Opportunity | Status | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Planet / Planet University / Project Centinela | Partnership scoping | Satellite-drone integration for conservation, carbon/MRV, urban resilience, agriculture, disaster risk and training. |
| LCC-MLGRD-HOT citywide mapping and national scale-up | Concept development | Municipal use cases and potential World Bank-supported scale-up; no funding award claimed. |
| JICA Greater Lusaka RDP alignment | Use-case positioning | City/regional mapping, transport/BRT corridors, flood/drainage, waste, green belts, peri-urban growth and urban heat. |
| Agririgo / RigoTrace agricultural intelligence | MoU / pilot under review | UAV plot mapping, farm records, traceability, precision-agriculture intelligence and data-governance model. |
| AgriSense-Africa / STISA | Grant consortium pipeline | AI, IoT, EO and UAV-enabled precision agriculture for smallholder resilience; NACUAS geospatial contribution under development. |
Completed/Demonstration Activities
| Completed activity | Lead/PI | Support/collaborators | Date | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kanyama Township Open Drone Mapping (>70%) | Dr P. H. Nyimbili / NACUAS | HOT and partners | Q1/Q2 2026 | Community-led high-resolution mapping and data-use development for urban planning, drainage, infrastructure, housing, green space and resilience. Drone imagery/Settlement and urban data: https://hotosm.org |
| 3D mapping and building inspection - UNZA & Handsworth | NACUAS with Prof. K. MacManus | Visiting-scholar / partner-supported technical engagement | Q2 2026 | High-resolution 3D models and inspection imagery for condition assessment and maintenance planning. |
| Agricultural drone mapping - Mthukunzi, Petauke | Dr P. H. Nyimbili; Mr D. Habukali; Prof. K. MacManus | Field/research activity with ZCAA oversight | Q2 2026 | Farm-level spatial assessment and hands-on research training. |
| UNZA sanitation and sewer corridor mapping | NACUAS | NACUAS / project data platform | Q2 2026 | Aerial evidence for infrastructure documentation, progress monitoring and drainage/sanitation planning. |
| Global Data Festival / Kenya Space Expo engagement | Dr P. H. Nyimbili / NACUAS | HOT and international event partners | June 2026 | International knowledge exchange on citizen data, AI for disaster resilience and citywide drone mapping. |
| CRHMA Centres of Excellence webinar feature | Dr P. H. Nyimbili / NACUAS | CRHMA / UNZA | 29 July 2026 | Public research communication on GeoAI, drones, remote sensing, climate resilience and disaster risk management. |