The Federal Aviation Administration granted an emergency waiver to Zipline’s drones delivery service. This was to enable the delivery of medical supplies and personal protective equipment in North Carolina. They are being sent to a Novant Health Medical Center in Charlotte, NC via routes that the FAA had approved.
With consideration of the pandemic, the deliveries are now entirely contactless. Zipline says this is the first emergency drone logistics operation to help hospitals respond to the virus crisis. Moreover, it’s the longest-range drone delivery service that United States officials have approved.
Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo said we’re likely in for a long-term fight against COVID-19. An important tool in that effort is the use of contactless drone logistics.
The work is underway in North Carolina, which will provide the rest of the country with a blueprint to follow. They are trying to figure out how to build the most resilient and responsive health care system possible.
The service has begun by delivering supplies from a depot next to its facility in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Once the drones reach Novant Health’s Huntersville medical center, they drop the supplies via parachute. Thanks to that, the center doesn’t need any additional infrastructure to receive deliveries.
Its drones can carry almost four pounds of cargo and travel at speeds of up to 80 mph.
Getting government approval
For now, Zipline has been given the Federal Aviation Administration approval for flights over two routes. That is, with round trips of between 20 and 30 miles.
However, the company’s drones have a total range of over 100 miles. With that, they’re capable of reaching 30 more Novant Health facilities, pending FAA approval.
In two years, Novant and Zipline hope to get the signal to go from the FAA to serve health facilities. Even patients’ homes, as part of a full commercial service.
Although this is a “US first” for Zipline, this is not the first time the company’s drones have been used. People have already used them to deliver medical supplies globally.
In 2016, for instance, the drone logistics company was delivering blood in Rwanda. It was at this time that they carried out the first national drone delivery system. Last year, it expanded operations to Ghana.
In total, the company says its drones have flown over 1.8 million autonomous miles. Now it’s using its drones to help respond to the coronavirus pandemic in both countries.
Zipline Works with the FAA on Small Scale Pilot Projects
In North America, Zipline and Novant Health aren’t the only companies to be using drones to deliver medical supplies. In April, UPS and CVS started using Matternet’s M2 drones to deliver prescription medication to a retirement community in Florida.
However, in Florida, Matternet’s drones are being used to deliver to pickup locations. Before, a UPS ground vehicle used to take the package to the resident’s door.
Alphabet’s Wing also currently conducts drone deliveries in Virginia. Although, these consist of household items like food and coffee, rather than medical items.
That hasn’t stopped demand from increasing, as people comply with social distancing rather than heading to stores.
Together with several other drone delivery companies, Zipline has been working with the FAA on small scale pilot projects. It has been doing so over the past year to prove the drone delivery concept, but progress has been slow.
Now, though, COVID-19 has put enough additional stress on the U.S. healthcare system. With that, the FAA has granted an emergency waiver to the Part 107 drone rules.
That was intended to allow North Carolina–based Novant Health to partner with Zipline on a beyond-line-of-sight autonomous drone delivery service. This kind of service is done through controlled airspace, the first of its kind in the United States.
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