FAA Allowing Drones to Deliver PPE Kits and Medical Supplies to US Hospitals

We have seen the use of drones for many significant tasks like inspecting metro tunnels and disinfecting large areas. However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) did not allow operators to fly drones in areas that are out of their line of sight, until now. The FAA is now allowing drones to carry emergency medical supplies to healthcare institutions in light of the current crisis.

Zipline, a drone firm, has been given green light by the FAA to fly their drones to deliver medical supplies and PPE kits. This is the first time that the FAA is allowing drone operators to fly the machines in beyond-line-of-sight areas in the US.

The firm, that has been negotiating with the FAA to use their drones for deliveries, has to use one of the two specified routes to fly the drones. The drones will launch from a specified fulfillment center. They will then deliver a box of medical supplies to nearby hospitals in North Carolina. The box should drop by parachute at designated spots near the hospital compounds.

Zipline drones route

Now, the drones are can carry a cargo load of 4lbs (1.8 kgs) and can fly at speeds up to 80mph (~128 kmph). So delivering the medical supplies should be quick and safe as it does not involve humans coming in close contact.

Zipline chief, Keller Rinaudo said that he hopes that the North Carolina example will “provide the rest of the country with a blueprint” for future healthcare deliveries. The current route for the drones is short and the firm can deliver to only one hospital as of now. However, Zipline hopes to deliver medical supplies to other hospitals and eventually to homes in the future.

Comments

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5i Review: A Powerful Workhorse

It’s been quite some time since Intel announced its 11th-gen laptop processors, complete with the new logo design and Intel Iris Xe graphics. And yet, so far I’ve not gotten my hands on a laptop packing the new processor and iGPU. That all changed when Lenovo sent over the IdeaPad Slim 5i (Rs. 61,990) with […] The article Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5i Review: A Powerful Workhorse was first published on Beebom

Twitter Wants to Build an ‘Open and Decentralized’ Social Media Platform

In an attempt to create a Facebook competitor, which everyone flocks to, Twitter became increasingly centralized over the years. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey believes that’s the case and has now tweeted a lengthy plan to fund research to build an open and decentralized standard for social media platforms. It will “ultimately become a standard” that Twitter’s client will be based upon. Dubbed Bluesky, this project will see a team of up to five researchers , which could include open-source architects, engineers, and designers, being on-boarded in the near future. Currently, Bluesky has no team members but Dorsey tweeted that Twitter’s CTO Parag Agrawal has been tasked with finding a lead. The folks over at Firefox have already extended a helping hand, saying how the non-profit has contributed to decentralization. Enough jibber-jabber, but what exactly is Bluesky? And what does it intend to achieve? Dorsey, in his tweetstorm , states that the challenges being faced by centralized social

Mysterious Drones Spotted in Colorado and Nebraska; Sources Unknown

A group of drones was reportedly been spotted in the sky at night last week in Colorado and Nebraska that made the residents anxious and worried. The police officials in charge have no idea regarding where these drones are from. “They’ve been doing a grid search, a grid pattern. They fly one square and then they fly another square,” Colorado’s Phillips County Sheriff Thomas Elliot told the Denver Post. The drones have an approximate six-foot wingspan and stay 200 to 300 feet away from buildings. At least 17 drones have been spotted till now. They appear at around 7 PM at night and disappear at around 10 PM . Until now, the drones have not been caught doing any illegal or unofficial activities. “They do not seem to be malicious. They don’t seem to be doing anything that would indicate criminal activity,” Sheriff Elliott added. The Federal Aviation Agency, the Air Force, Drug Enforcement Administration, and US Army Forces Command confirmed that the drones did not belong to them.

Techno Bhogi

Search This Blog