Drone delivery makes headway in Rwanda

Drone delivery of life-saving
medicines is picking up pace
in Rwanda where Western
Rwanda’s Zipline Muhanga
Distribution Centre is set
to become the African
country’s busiest airport by
July this year.
The launch of the
distribution centre in
October last year – global
company Zipline’s first
operational site – made
Rwanda the first country
in the world to integrate
drones into its airspace
and begin daily operations
of autonomous delivery.
The centre has already
completed over 350 delivery
flights.
According to Zipline,
the distribution centre is
capable of delivering to any
site within 75 km (150 km
round trip), even with high
winds, downpours and tall
mountains.
Furthermore, no
infrastructure is needed as
the Zipline drone does not
land or recharge at delivery
sites, so no infrastructure
needs to be installed.
“To begin service to a
new delivery site, Zipline
performs a survey f light
to map the area. Within
two days, we’re ready to
start delivering to an open
clearing the size of two
parking spaces. This can
even be on the clinic’s roof,”
said a Zipline spokesperson.
He pointed out that
while a truck would take
an average of four hours
to reach the Muhororo
District Hospital, the
Zipline autonomous
aircraft is there in 17
minutes.
“Zipline Muhanga has
been scaling to serve twenty
one hospitals spanning
Western Rwanda,” he said.
CAPTION
The Zipline aircraft flies 12 hours a day every day of the
week.