Zipline
Zipline is an autonomous fixed-wing aircraft drone used to carry blood and medicine from a distribution center to wherever it's needed. It can launch within minutes, and travel in any weather.
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Did you know?
First tested in Rwanda, Zipline now delivers more than 20 percent of the blood supply outside the country's capital.
History
Keller Rinaudo, Keenan Wyrobeck, and William Hetzler founded Zipline in 2014 with the goal of speeding up delivery of critical items like blood and medical supplies through on-demand deliveries by drone. For their initial test bed, they chose Rwanda, an ideal location due to its challenging terrain, relatively small size, extensive wireless connectivity, and receptive government. In 2018, Zipline's East African operations expanded to include Tanzania, a much larger country. The company has also flown its delivery drones in Australia and the United States. In 2023, Zipline introduced P2, a new delivery system that combines a hybrid fixed-wing drone with a small tethered droid that can drop out of the belly of the drone to make precision deliveries.
Specs
- Overview
Capable of carrying loads of up to 1.75 kilograms. Round trip range of 160 kilometers. Flies 4x faster than average quadcopter drones and serves area 200x as large.
- Status
Ongoing
- Year
2016
- Website
- Width
- 330 cm
- Length
- 218 cm
- Weight
- 21 kg
- Speed
- 128 km/h (top speed), 101 km/h (cruising speed)
- Actuators
Twin electric motors
- Power
Lithium-ion battery packs
