12/6/2023 0 Comments Zipline drone stock priceZipline is betting that transporting lifesaving medical supplies, which are often lightweight and urgently needed, will be the killer app for delivery drones. The answer may be here in Rwanda, where Zipline is delivering blood to 25 hospitals and clinics across the country every day. But the world is waiting to see whether any company can find a business model that makes drone delivery a sustainable and profitable endeavor. Amazon, Google, and Domino’s Pizza have all pulled off carefully controlled demonstrations and pilot projects, delivering items such as sunscreen, burritos, and (of course) pizza to backyards and fields. By the time we make it back, the drone is flying smoothly toward another hospital elsewhere in Rwanda, with a fresh package of blood in its belly.ĭelivery by drone is a futuristic idea that has caught the public’s imagination, and there are plenty of attempts to turn it into a commercial reality. We then climb back into our car to start our bone-jarring return drive to Muhanga, one of Zipline’s launch sites, winding our way over dirt roads. The drone immediately begins to climb and vanishes over the hills as a staff member crosses the hospital parking lot to pick up the package-a shipment of blood ordered by WhatsApp less than half an hour earlier. In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, the drone descends, opens a set of doors in its belly, and drops a small package that parachutes to the ground. And not long after we arrive at Kinazi’s hospital, the fixed-wing drone materializes out of the blue. The drone is operated by Zipline, a California-based company focused on delivering medical supplies in areas with poor infrastructure. ![]() We’re on our way to rendezvous with a blood-carrying drone that will make the trip in under 14 minutes. The 50-kilometer trip into western Rwanda will take us well over an hour. Rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills, and our car seems to go over every one of them as we drive from the small town of Muhanga to the even smaller town of Kinazi.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |