Patrick Meier

Patrick Meier invented the concept of using crisis mapping in humanitarian emergencies, and is a co-founder and the Executive Director of WeRobotics.

Early life The son of a businessman, Meier grew up in Kenya, Ivory Coast, and Austria.

Digital mapping of the Haiti earthquake Meier's fiancée was in Port-au-Prince when the 2010 Haiti earthquake occurred. Working remotely, Meier invented the concept of a crisis map by creating an online digital map to help with the coordination of humanitarian assistance. Thousands of people in forty countries pulled information from YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter as well as email, videos and text messages, and input it on the online map. The crisis map was used by United States Marine Corps, and the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In November 2013, Meier aided the United Nations response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. Later he criticized humanitarian drone operators for not sharing the information they had gathered with either local authorities or humanitarian agencies, and spoke of the need for a code of conduct.

In the aftermath of the 2015 Nepal earthquakes, Meier used unmanned aerial vehicles to create detailed images of Kathmandu. and spoke of importance of the drone code of conduct.

In 2016, Meier was contacted by authorities in Ecuador who were seeking advice about how to respond to the 2016 Ecuador earthquake.

Meier is a co-founder of WeRobotics, the founder of the Humanitarian UAV Network (also known as UAViators), and a co-founder of Kathmandu Flying Labs.

Personal life Meier married Christine Martin in 2013, with whom he has a child. They live in Washington, D.C.