Using Drones to Deliver Medical Supplies in Roadless Areas
Posted on April 10, 2014 Comments (12)
This is an awesome use of technology to tackle important problems. Engineers are great.
Humanitarian drones to deliver medical supplies to roadless areas
[Andreas] Raptopoulos said the new system would be used to leapfrog the building of infrastructure, in the same way mobile networks have overtaken fixed lines in poorly connected countries.
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In sub-Saharan Africa, 85% of roads are inaccessible during the wet season, cutting off huge swaths of the population and hindering the transport of medical supplies, he said.
There are three parts to the system delivering medical goods: the UAVs themselves, landing stations where packages can be dropped off and transferred, and the software that ensures vehicles get securely from point to point. Because of their short battery life, networks of drones are needed to work together, shuttling between ground stations
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Approximate costings from Matternet put the price of unmanned aerial vehicles at £6,000 each and ground stations at £3,000 each. A network of five ground stations and 10 UAVs, as well as setup and training, would cost a charity in the region of £90,000, according to Raptopoulos. An eight-propeller drone can carry 2kg and travel 10km in good weather. Batteries need to be replaced every 600 cycles.
They are hiring: software engineer and avionic engineering [the broken link has been removed] right now. They are Palo Alto, California.
Related: Appropriate Technology Health Care Solution Could Save 72,000 Lives a Year – Cellphone Microscope – Pay as You Go Solar in India – Water and Electricity for All
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Tags: appropriate technology, California, charity, entrepreneurship, gadgets, Health Care, human health, Products, software engineering, TED
12 Responses to “Using Drones to Deliver Medical Supplies in Roadless Areas”
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April 10th, 2014 @ 3:53 pm
This was a great article. It is always great to read how modern technology can benefit the human race. Thank you very much for the post.
April 19th, 2014 @ 5:43 am
Most countries using drones for war activities.By reading this article i realized that we can use modern technology to help innocent people.Not only for war.
Great article.thank you for sharing this with us.i love to read this kind of articles. waiting for more 😀
June 5th, 2014 @ 9:03 am
I do see many of the benefits that could be achieved. It’s still kinda scary though. Sometimes it feels like technology moves too fast.
June 9th, 2014 @ 6:54 am
In my village that full of forest and roadless, drone will useful for our village, specially for CSR program. Seems like it need more money to buy or using drone on our village 🙁
August 29th, 2014 @ 11:36 am
“It also shows the location of the closest automated electronic defibrillator (if there is one nearby) as well as a reminder about how to do CPR, just in case the user has an adrenaline-induced brain-freeze…”
July 9th, 2016 @ 8:45 am
[…] This is an awesome use of technology to tackle important problems. Engineers are great. […]
July 16th, 2016 @ 11:32 am
[…] The primary purpose in this proposal is to develop the equipment, protocols and experience in use of UAS (drones) to deliver oral sylvatic plague vaccine (SPV). It is anticipated that this approach, when fully developed, will offer the most efficient […]
January 18th, 2017 @ 9:36 pm
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March 9th, 2017 @ 1:19 pm
[…] Looking through Kentaro’s web site he works closely on what I have known under the term of “appropriate technology” – using technology (often very simple types of technology) to improve people’s lives. I grew up with my father’s interest and around his work with appropriate technology and I find it extremely interesting and a powerful method to improve the world. […]
June 25th, 2017 @ 12:22 pm
[…] wrote in 2014 about the huge potential for drone delivery of medical supplies. It is wonderful to see Zipline improving people’s lives with their […]
June 28th, 2017 @ 4:37 pm
[…] for Benefit to Society (2014), Figuring out who will make that money is not easy (2015) – Using Drones to Deliver Medical Supplies in Roadless Areas (2014) – Encouraging the Next Generation of STEM Professionals – The Importance of a Work […]
February 5th, 2020 @ 10:37 am
Wow its amazing whats happening with medicine and technology these days.
Drones are the future for things like this.
Great stuff and great website.
Alex