A start-up that has delivered blood and medical supplies to emerging markets around the world is coming to the US.
Zipline, which already serves parts of Rwanda, is launching in communities across Maryland, Nevada, and Washington state, according to The Verge, including Native American reservations.
The company has already teamed up with the Rwandan government to deliver blood products to 20 hospitals and health centers in the country. It operates Zip, a small robot airplane that can carry things like vaccines, medicine, or blood and serve millions in areas that are often unreachable by cars and trucks.
When in need, healthcare workers request supplies via text message. Zipline says its drones can be in the sky "within minutes," fly at approximately 60mph, and land in areas about the size of "a few parking spaces."
In the US, Zipline tells The Verge it wants to combat healthcare inequalties. "When you look at rural or isolated communities, particularly Native American populations, populations that live on islands, you have serious health outcome inequalities," Keller Rinaudo, Zipline's founder and CEO, said in an interview. "There's a linear relationship between how far away you live from a city and your expected lifespan. So our hope is that this type of technology can solve those kinds of inequalities."
US drone regulations are slowly coming together. The FAA recently released guidelines for small commercial drones, and the White House just this week announced it's exploring how best to get drones safely in the air for things like smart disaster response, agricultural monitoring, and the study of severe storms.
According to The Verge, the White House contacted Zipline after seeing reports of its Rwanda efforts. If the FAA grants Zipline a waiver, its drones could be in the air within six months.
In a statement, the White House said Zipline will initially team with Ellumen, ASD Healthcare, and the nonprofit Bloodworks Northwest for deliveries on Smith Island, Maryland; Pyramid Lake Tribal Health Clinic and/or VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System in Nevada; and the San Juan Islands in Washington.