Zipline International, the $18m San Francisco drone startup funded by Microsoft and Yahoo executives, recently announced a new partnership with the Rwandan government to deliver medical supplies to remote health centres across 50% of the East African nation, using its own cargo drones. Zipline intends to make 150 deliveries per day of blood and other medical resources, via its 22lb/10kg battery-powered aircraft, which the Rwandan government plans to finance. The Zip flights cost approximately the same as a motorcycle trip and are capable of carrying payloads of up to 3.5lbs/1.58kg, with round-trip ranges of approximately 75 miles/120km and average flight times of 30 minutes. In addition to delivering life-saving supplies, Zip’s drones will also be used for surveillance purposes in Rwanda.
Zipline International, the $18m San Francisco drone startup funded by Microsoft and Yahoo executives, recently announced a new partnership with the Rwandan government to deliver medical supplies to remote health centres across 50% of the East African nation, using its own cargo drones. Zipline intends to make 150 deliveries per day of blood and other medical resources, via its 22lb/10kg battery-powered aircraft, which the Rwandan government plans to finance. The Zip flights cost approximately the same as a motorcycle trip and are capable of carrying payloads of up to 3.5lbs/1.58kg, with round-trip ranges of approximately 75 miles/120km and average flight times of 30 minutes. If successful, the Rwandan government hopes to partner with the Swiss Red Line Foundation to develop larger cargo drones for use in other countries.