Matternet and its first steps to the future
I did not intend to do free advertising to Matternet Company, just only to bring under your attention a new form of air drone deliveries and its advantages, in this case for medical applications, which will be developed as drone delivery network in the future.
Since the beginning Matternet Company has developed a worldwide technology for on-demand urban air delivery. It has offered its technological platform for services in the medical field, e-commerce and logistics organizations. Matternet succeed in March 2017 to be one of the first company worldwide, which was authorized to operate drone delivery in major populated places of Switzerland. The company was selected in May 2018 to perform logistics operations with drones for American hospitals. Thus it is that in March 2019, Matternet and UPS are partnering to provide drone delivery services to US health systems, expanding rapidly nationwide.
Drone deliveries since 2016
We have been accustomed since 2016, with deliveries from Amazon in certain places. But there are already many people who wonder: how and where will they take off, where will they land, how they come into use?
Don’t worry, I tell you everything. Matternet has built landing / take-off stations between the transfer points through their cargo drones. They have an interesting appearance, of some kind of flower-shaped pillars, 10 meters height, whose inflorescence opens to reveal, their take-off and landing platform.
Unlike the free drone delivery networks designed by Prime Air for Amazon, or others, Matternet’s drone delivery system offer a point-to-point solution, conceived on a quick connection to a number of locations, where they deliver fast and elegant in a short time, and being in the medical field, it is clear that it delivers to hospitals.
Pilot tests for Matternet
Matternet Company has conducted pilot tests in Switzerland and North Carolina, where medical centers send blood monsters for tests, medications, even vaccinations (under appropriate temperature conditions), without encountering traffic difficulties or other complications related to flight safety or reaching the destination.
There are already many questions about this type of delivery service as: where does the drone land, what happens afterwards? How does the drone charge its battery, how long can last a battery, is the battery changed and then it always go further along the route, who, how and when to change the battery, but also how the package is delivered to the recipient after the drone landed on the platform? What happens if more drones arrive at the same time? There are a lot of unanswered questions, yet.
As can be seen from the image, besides the usefulness of the landing platform that opens like a flower, it captures the eyes and is also very functional.
What happens when a drone reach it’s destination
When a drone reaches its destination, the flower corolla opens and the drone lands on a platform inside it. Then the flower closes, the drone is grabbed by the mechanical systems of the platform, the parcel is discharged and the battery replaced by a fresh charged one, the parcel is lowered with an interior elevator, while waiting for the person authorized to pick it up with the help of a dongle.
If at one moment only a drone arrives, it stays on the flower corolla platform, or after delivery returns to the source. If there are several deliveries at the same time, after the execution of the protocol, the unloaded drone will rise to 60m in height, waiting in that stationary location until new orders.
You can see the operation of sending a parcel with the drone:
From a press release we found that: “The Department of Health (DoH) – Abu Dhabi, the regulator of the healthcare sector in the emirate has announced that Abu Dhabi Emirate is adopting advanced drones to distribute and transfer medical supplies within the healthcare sector.
First generations of projects of this kind for the Middle East
The project, a first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa, will create a state-of-the-art delivery system and network using drones at 40 stations throughout the year 2022. The delivery and transfer system will have around the clock service and form part of the emergency response network available at healthcare facilities in Abu Dhabi. It aligns with the year of preparation for the “UAE Projects of the 50”, the UAE’s Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Strategy, and broader strategies to position Abu Dhabi as a global hub for innovation.
The project which is a collaboration between the DoH, the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), SkyGo and Matternet will leverage existing advanced infrastructure to transform healthcare logistics. Drones in the supply chain will be used to deliver medical supplies, medicine and blood units, vaccines and samples between laboratories, pharmacies, blood banks across healthcare facilities around the city in a safe manner. This will help in emergencies and contribute to reducing occupancy rates in healthcare facilities as well as enhancing the quality of patient outcomes.”
