Billions of people around our world struggle to get access to medical essentials like blood and vaccines, due in part to a lack of sufficient infrastructure. But these last-leg delivery logistics problems are melting away thanks to a company called Fly Zipline.
Fly Zipline is a medical drone delivery startup based out of South San Francisco, Calif. The company was founded in 2014 with the aim of solving the world’s most complex medical access challenges by using their autonomous drone delivery system. Although their headquarters is situated in the heart of Silicon Valley, their work began in Rwanda.
“We started in Rwanda for two reasons,” Fly Zipline Co-Founder Keenan Wyrobek told The Hill. “The value we can provide with this logistics service is incredibly high, and the public health system of Rwanda is incredibly data driven and innovative. They had the wherewithal to make a very data driven decision in a complex health system and to very clearly understand for themselves why this kind of on-demand medical supply logistics is transformative for their health care, and economics of their health care system. That’s why we launched in Rwanda.”
When a mother is bleeding out during childbirth, readily available blood reserves are critical to saving her life. And in many areas outside of Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, Fly Zipline drones are providing a solution to getting these mothers the lifesaving blood they need in a timely manner. Zipline orders are filled fast. Distribution centers can get a drone in the air less than five minutes after receiving an order on their app.
Through the use of a slingshot launching system, Zipline drones reach their cruising velocity of 60 mph in just .3 seconds and can glide for more than 100 miles, creating a delivery range of 50 miles from the distribution center.
The waterproof glider drones have a wingspan of 12 feet and a payload capacity of nearly four pounds and they execute their missions without the use of a pilot. The drones use a GPS system to autonomously navigate between the drop zones and distribution centers. As a result of their glider design, they use less energy to fly faster and farther than most of their quad-copter drone competitors.
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They’ve already partnered with companies like Walmart, Intermountain Health, and Magellen RX to set up distribution centers in Arkansas and North Carolina.
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The drones airdropping medicine from the sky are coming to America https://t.co/A777gR0Kdg pic.twitter.com/HJTC4OEciU
— The Hill (@thehill) April 1, 2022
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