[ad_1]
Unmanned drone deliveries are making their way into the UPS network. Thanks to a partnership with the drone startup Matternet, UPS will begin delivering medical samples via unmanned drones to WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina.
With the approval of the Federal Aviation Administration and the North Carolina Department of Transportation, UPS and Matternet will perform routine daily flights carrying medical samples. Previously, WakeMed relied on courier cars, which were subject to delays on the roads.
Drone-driven deliveries involve a health professional who begins by loading the drone with a sample or medical sample, such as a blood sample. From there, the drone will fly along a predetermined mouth to a fixed landing area in WakeMed's main hospital and main pathology laboratory.
UPS and Matternet will then be able to badyze the program and better determine how drones can be used more widely to improve deliveries in other hospitals nationwide. Previously, UPS worked in partnership with Zipline to test drone medical deliveries in remote communities.
"We believe unmanned aerial systems can better serve customer needs and provide opportunities for network enhancements that drive efficiencies and allow us to expand our business," said Bala Ganesh, Vice President. from UPS High Tech, in a statement.
By deploying drones, we hope to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Last August, Matternet conducted test flights as part of the FAA Pilotless Aircraft Integration Program.
That's about a year after Matternet got a $ 16 million round from Boeing HorizonX Ventures, the venture arm of the aerospace company. At the time, the Federal Aviation Administration had recently selected, among others, Matternet for UAV logistics operations for US hospitals as part of its pilot program on unmanned aircraft systems. In 2015, Matternet began testing the first UAV delivery system in Zurich, Switzerland to transport blood and pathology samples to laboratories.
Matternet has since expanded its operations in Switzerland and has performed more than 1,700 flights over densely populated areas to carry out more than 850 patient sample deliveries.
"With UPS, we want to change the on-demand logistics status quo for US healthcare systems through drone delivery networks," said Matternet CEO Andreas Raptopoulos. "Our technology enables hospital systems to transport medical items at an unprecedented level of speed and predictability, which improves patient care and operational efficiencies."
Source link
