US Drone Company Zipline Starts Medicine Delivery in Japan

The drones are delivering medical supplies in the tiny Goto Islands, off the western coast of Kyushu, and in southwestern Japan.

US Drone Company Zipline Starts Medicine Delivery in Japan

Photo Credit: Twitter/ @Zipline

Blood supplies, insulin and cancer treatment have also been delivered with Zipline drones

Highlights
  • Zipline was founded six years ago
  • In US, Zipline has partnered with Walmart to deliver retail goods and dru
  • The company is also delivering medical goods in Ghana and Rwanda
Advertisement

Zipline, an American company that specialises in using autonomously flying drones to deliver medical supplies, has taken off in Japan. They're flying, starting Thursday, across the tiny Goto Islands, off the western coast of Kyushu, in southwestern Japan, delivering to pharmacies and hospitals.

Other parts of Japan may follow, including urban areas, although the biggest needs tend to be in isolated rural areas.

Zipline, founded six years ago, already is in service in the US, where it has partnered with Walmart to deliver other products at the retail chain as well as drugs. It is also delivering medical goods in Ghana and Rwanda.

Its takeoff in Japan is in partnership with Toyota Tsusho, a group company of Japan's top automaker Toyota Motor.

“You can totally transform the way that you react to pandemics, treat patients and do things like home health care delivery,” Zipline chief executive Keller Rinaudo told The Associated Press.

Although drones have been used in Japan for photography and aerial exhibitions, such as the Tokyo Olympics last year, they're not in wide use, especially in urban areas because of regulations. It remains to be seen if Zipline's health care service will help win over skeptics.

Rinaudo was optimistic the technology will be accepted in a nation known for robotics prowess, which has a large elderly population but needs better health care in isolated areas.

Medical services are the focus because “there was a real moral imperative to get that right first,” he said.

“Communities will deeply understand the value of the service. And it was also easier to get regulators comfortable with what we were doing when every flight was potentially saving a human life,” Rinaudo said.

By delivering medicine precisely, the service helps reduce stockpiles and, potentially, waste. The zero-emission quiet flights can go as far as 300 kilometres (186 miles) and are inexpensive compared to other modes of transport, according to Zipline, based in South San Francisco, California.

The coronavirus pandemic has made deliveries of vaccines more pressing than ever, Rinaudo said. Blood supplies, insulin and cancer treatment have also been delivered with Zipline drones.

A subsidiary called Sora-iina will carry out the operations, managing a distribution centre and flight services from Fukue Port on Goto Islands. It's the first distribution centre in Asia, and the 14th in the world to operate Zipline's “autonomous instant logistics” technology. Three major Japanese distributors of pharmaceuticals have agreed to be partners.


Should you buy a 4G or 5G budget phone? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Zipline, Drones
Realme GT Neo 3 Will Go on Sale in India From May 4, Company Reveals Ahead of Launch
Russia Fines Google for Failing to Take Down YouTube Videos Showing Military Operation in Ukraine
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »