UPS IS NOW USING DRONES TO DELIVER BLOOD TO A HOSPITAL

The cargo for the first revenue-generating drone delivery in the United States wasn’t an Amazon Package or 7-11 Slurpee— it was blood.

UPS launched a new drone service to transport blood and other medical samples between the various buildings at WakeMed Raleigh’s medical campus in North Carolina — and the speed at which the drones deliver the samples could literally be the difference between life and death.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2aHAgGjIiQ#action=share

UPS’s new service makes use of autonomous drone developer Matternet’s M2 quadcopter, which can reportedly carry a payload of up to five pounds a distance of approximately 20 kilometers (12.5 miles).

Medical professionals at WakeMed’s nearby facilities load the drone’s secure container with blood samples or other medical specimens, and the drone then follows a fixed path to the healthcare system’s main hospital and pathology lab for unloading.