Matternet deploys world’s first urban medical drone transportation system in Abu Dhabi

In Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health in the United Arab Emirates and logistics partner SkyGo, Matternet will establish an urban network for medical transport by drone.

The Gulf state aims to take a leading role in the field of Urban Air Mobility as part of the roll-out of the medicine drone transportation network.

Matternet deploys world's first urban medical drone transportation system in Abu Dhabi.

The goal of the initiative is to reduce costs and improve efficiency in the delivery of emergency medical supplies including blood samples, vaccines, blood donations, and prescription drugs.

The notion that savings might be achieved on decentralized medical infrastructures such as laboratories and pharmacies by decentralizing stocks is one example. In addition, drone delivery should lower traffic congestion and produce less CO2 emissions.

Matternet's network's construction will include the installation of 40 drone ports from which medical delivery drones can take flight.

Matternet has formed a collaboration with SkyGo, a logistics service provider based in the United Arab Emirates with extensive expertise in the healthcare industry, to execute the missions. The drone delivery service is already permitted to fly BVLOS drone delivery services throughout the Gulf nation.

Matternet demonstration and rollout

The first phase of flight tests in the nation has now been completed. A demonstration of the drone delivery service was given from the headquarters of the Ministry of Health, in the presence of the minister and other officials, as part of this test flight.

During this PCR test, which took place at an altitude of approximately 100 meters, a Matternet drone flew around and monitored patients on their way to work.

The firms anticipate that testing will be done by the end of the year and that the service will begin commercially available in the first quarter of 2022.

Andreas Raptopoulos, CEO of Matternet said:

“The additional expertise and synergies with SkyGo allow us to realize our plans to launch a network covering dozens of healthcare facilities in Abu Dhabi at an unprecedented speed. This is an example for the rest of the world in successfully scaling up drone transport for the benefit of healthcare and society in general.”

Great track record of Matternet's drone delivery service

Matternet has already demonstrated its expertise in the area of drone delivery for medical purposes.

In May, Matternet became the first drone firm in the United States to begin delivering the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Since 2018, the business has been using Matternet drones to transport blood across Switzerland.

Matternet is also engaged in drone delivery initiatives in several African nations, including Malawi and Rwanda.

What are your thoughts on delivering critical items, such as vaccines by drone? Do you think you'd use Matternet's drone delivery service for anything like that? Leave a comment below with your opinion.

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This article first appeared on Dronewatch and is written by Wiebe de Jager who is also a DroneXL contributor.