Matternet has launched its drone delivery program in Berlin, Germany, to deliver medical samples between hospitals, with permanent flights expected to occur in the new year. Matternet will be working with German company Labor Berlin to speed up its sample delivery network.
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Delivery drone company Matternet is expanding its Asia operations with its latest partnership with Japan Airlines to bring drone delivery to Tokyo, Japan. The partnership will see Matternet’s M2 drone system deployed as a part of Japan’s drone logistics project.
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Matternet and UPS have jointly announced they will expand hospital drone deliveries in North Carolina, adding the Wake Forest Baptist Health medical campus. The addition of the new medical campus will allow for medical supplies and PPE to be transported in a much shorter time frame.
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Another day, another story of new drone delivery services spurred by the COVID-19 emergency. Today, Bloomberg Law reports that UPS will begin its first paid residential drone delivery service, catering to The Villages retirement community in Florida. Expand
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Matternet has launched its new drone station with a new design and direct integration with hospital systems. Matternet hopes to have seamless drone deliveries between hospitals and pharmacies with their suppliers.
UC San Diego Health will be commencing tests involving drones as a delivery method for medical samples between its facilities in hopes to reduce the time potentiates for blood results and treatments. The testing is a collaboration between UC San Deigo Health, UPS, and Matternet.
Swiss Post’s drone delivery program will resume on January 27 after being suspended last May due to crashes. The drones were used to transport medical supplies and samples between two hospitals in less time compared to standard delivery methods.
On September 27, 2019, UPS Flight Forward was the only company to date to receive FAA approval under Part 135 Standard to operate a drone airline business. Since then, we have learned of UPS’s plans to partner with CVS to deliver healthcare products and over-the-counter medications to residents by drone. That information came out soon after we learned of the partnership between FedEx, Wing Aviation, and Walgreens. Today, however, I would like to bring some attention to UPS’s all-female drone flight crew: Sherri Roberts, Candice McHargue, and Caroline Furse. Because the drone industry is dominated by men, that team might help to inspire the next generation of female drone pilots.
After the second crash involving Silicon Valley startup Matternet drones, the Swiss Post has decided to halt their drone delivery service indefinitely. The failure of an emergency parachute to bring the aircraft safely to the ground raises questions about the safety of delivery drones in urban areas.
UPS and Matternet are operating the first FAA-sanctioned commercial drone service to deliver medical samples in North Carolina. The Matternet M2 drone makes up to 10 routine delivery flights per day at WakeMed’s flagship hospital and campus in the Raleigh, N.C. The project, that is part of the UAS Integration Pilot Program will be overseen by both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
The race to who can make the best delivery drone system is in full effect as Matternet raises $16 million with the help of Boeing HorizonX Ventures. There are so many different ways drones can be used to deliver things like packages ordered from online retailers or medicine from a doctor, but Matternet plans to use its drones to deliver items from peer to peer.
One of the best examples of drone deliveries must be Zipline’s blood and medical supply delivery system in Rwanda. The San Francisco-based company has successfully used drones to fly “more than 187,500 miles, delivering 7,000 units of blood over 7,500 flights” since they launched their service in Africa. Could medical cargo benefitting from using a drone to deliver supplies open up the skies for more routine drone deliveries?