Sky ambulance

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Zipline is robotic company which was founded in 2011 by Keller Rinaudo as robotic company and was producing small robots which were using mobile phones as their central processors( Romotive robots).In 2014 the main project was closed and the company was looking for new business ideas which would made bigger social impact. Later on Zipline focused on delivery of medicines to remote areas using automated drones.

 

Zipline operates the world’s only drone delivery system at national scale to send urgent medicines, such as blood and vaccines, to those in need – no matter where they live.                       (http://www.flyzipline.com/ )

 

According to the company, health workers in remote clinics can simply send text message to  Zipline via Messenger or Zipline application with needed medicines and wait for a parcel .All medical products are stored in Zipline distribution warehouses which enables immediate access to  most important and scarce medicines.After receiving text order ,distribution center pack up drone with medicines and send it to heath worker within a minutes , after 30 minutes the order is delivered be parachute to designed drop zone.

The drones company uses called Zips, weight of each drone is around 10 kilos and it can carry up to 1.8 kilos.

 

Nowadays the company is partnering with the government of Rwanda and serves 21 hospitals of western part of the country.They provide access to lifesaving medicines for almost eight million citizens of Rwanda and cover more than 7000 square miles.Having such a service  in the country where only 25% of roads are paved can basically mean the difference between life and death.In 2017 company made around 1400 flights and delivered 2600 units of blood.  Zipline is intended to open one more distribution center in Rwanda by the end of 2019.Moreover the company plans to work with Tanzania Ministry of Health in order to open distribution centers in Tanzania, the country 35 times the size of Rwanda.

 

Sources:

http://www.flyzipline.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipline_International

https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/24/16195442/zipline-zip-blood-medical-delivery-drones-rwanda-tanzania-keller-rinaudo

https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/13/17206398/zipline-drones-delivery-blood-emergency-medical-supplies-startup-rwanda-tanzania

https://www.theverge.com/2016/10/13/13267868/zipline-drone-delivery-rwanda-blood-launc

 

6 thoughts on “Sky ambulance

  1. Tautkevychius Yana says:

    From my perspective the topic is quite interesting and inspiring. Effective and in time health care must be available for everyone and the Zipline drone make it possible. What I am interested in is what is the cost of one delivery. It seems to me that it is definitely not a cheep option, so where the company gets fund not only for deliveries but also for construction of the new centre. Also, in case of emergency, 30 minutes is quite a long time, maybe the company has some plants to reduce it and make it more efficient.

    • Vynnyk Andrii says:

      Thanks for great question.The price of one delivery is approximately 15-45$ depending on weight of a product, urgency and distant.Nevertheless it is still cheaper than delivering using road transport.The company still improving their drones so i hope in the nearest future time of a delivery will be shorter.

  2. Willoński Artur says:

    Well I am amazed about their idea. I have heard a lot about drones in military or enterteinment sector, but using it as a delivery device? It is great. This is a great chance in terms of saving humans lifes not only in Africa but in huge agglomerations too. Do you have any informations if they are available in stock?

  3. Głazek Maciej says:

    This is amazing how passionate and happy this guy is talking about this invention. It is life changing for people, but the important thing is it doesn’t always operate as an emergency but also as a normal supply drone. It it important that the hospitals don’t only rely on emergency deliveries. After seeing both videos I am even more intrigued if and when are we going to see delivery drones in our everyday lives. It is good to see that the drones don’t only have entertainment, photography and military use. It is scary though what the future can bring with the miniaturisation of drones –> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlO2gcs1YvM&t=13s – a video endorsed by Berkeley professor. The delivery system seems very clever itself and its very good that they are directly contracted by local ministries of health so that this is sustainable. I hope that help like this helps 3rd world countries even faster.

    • Vynnyk Andrii says:

      Thanks for you comment.Yeah he is passionate about his invention and he inspired me a bit.I am convinced that whole concept of business should be built on the idea of creating benefits for the environment.

  4. Kuchur Dzianis says:

    This invention particularly great for countries which have many hard to reach places. It has potential to save many lives/ Technologies are awesome! Drones are awesome! This article showed how technological progress should be used. But again, the only problem that concerned me is people and their nature. Some time ago, I wrote an article about drone terrorism and I also heard that some drug dealers use the same method of delivery. It shows two different ways of using the same technology. Hope, in the future technological progress will serve only the forces of good

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