Zipline has started \drone delivery of covid-19 tests in Ghana. Separately but related, Zipline has been working with the US FAA to launch of U.S. operations for drone delivery including the ability to distribute test kits and PPEs via drone.
As we have written before about Zipline, they are currently used in countries where transportation is sometimes challenged for a variety of reasons. Zipline is used as a replacement for traditional ground based vehicles that they describe on their website as prone to “break down, get stuck in traffic jams that prevent urgent response, and put human drivers at risk behind the wheel, particularly when the route is rough and treacherous. Zipline’s drones are battery powered and fly quickly and directly to their destinations“.
Drone delivery of covid-19 tests in Ghana will continue – forecasts for the infection rates on the continent of Africa estimate increased spread of Covid-19.
“Zipline is dedicated to helping Ghana in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic,” said CEO Keller Rinaudo. “Using contactless drone delivery to transport Covid-19 test samples will allow the government to respond to the pandemic and help save lives more quickly.”
Zipline is a drone delivery service focused on critical healthcare applications, especially in places where road infrastructure is insufficient to ensure timely delivery of supplies. In Ghana, however, Zipline has started with drone delivery of covid-19 tests to two of the major cities: proving the greater efficiency of drone delivery even in urban areas.
Zipline’s network of distribution center gives them the capacity to make hundreds of deliveries per day anywhere across an 8,000 square mile area. Drone delivery of covid-19 tests allows health systems to target the distribution of critical and lifesaving health products on a daily basis. Payload size is flexible: items can be large or small.
Below is a video of the process.
"@MikeHell7: Ghana transporting Coronavirus test samples with drones to speed up the process.Nigeria just left the group 🚶 https://t.co/lvUcGIw6dk— 𝔾𝕀𝔻𝕀𝕋ℝ𝔸𝔽𝔽𝕀ℂ (@Gidi_Traffic) April 25, 2020 https://t.co/Rp2vzFC2n5
— The Uganda Times (@uganda_times) April 26, 2020
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