Company type | Privately held company |
---|---|
Industry | Logistics |
Genre | Delivery drone |
Founded | 2011 (Romotive)[1] 2014 (Zipline) |
Founders | Keller Rinaudo[2] (CEO) William Hetzler |
Headquarters | South San Francisco, California, United States |
Area served | Rwanda, Ghana |
Number of employees | 150–500[citation needed] |
Website | flyzipline |
Zipline is an American medical product delivery company headquartered in South San Francisco, California, that designs, builds, and operates small drone aircraft for delivery of medical products, with a focus on providing services in Africa. The company operates two distribution centers in Rwanda[4][5] and four in Ghana.[6]
In Rwanda, the company began drone deliveries in late 2016, and primarily delivers blood to urgent medical situations.[7] In addition to whole blood, the drones deliver platelets, fresh frozen plasma, and cryoprecipitate.[8] As of May 2019, more than 65% of blood deliveries in Rwanda outside of the capital city Kigali use Zipline drones.[9]
In Ghana, the company began using drones in April 2019 to deliver vaccines, blood, and drugs.[10]
History
The company was founded in 2011 as Romotive by Keller Rinaudo. Romotive produced an iPhone-controlled robotic pet toy called Romo.
In 2014[7] Romotive was shut down.[11][12] The company refocused on delivering medical supplies using drones with Keenan Wyrobek and William Hetzler joining to start Zipline.
In 2016, the company signed a deal with the Rwandan government to build a distribution center near Muhanga.[7] In 2018, Zipline expanded in Rwanda, opening a second distribution center in Kayonza, serving eastern Rwanda.
With the opening of its operations in Ghana in April 2019, Zipline operates four distribution centers across Ghana, delivering to 2,500 health facilities.[13]
In September 2019 it was announced musician Bono had joined their board[14]
Finances
Private investors in Zipline include: Yahoo founder Jerry Yang, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, Zappos' Alfred Lin[15], Stanford University[1][16], The UPS Foundation, GAVI,[17] Sequoia Capital, Katalyst Ventures, a16z, Google Ventures, SV Angel, and Subtraction Capital.[18]
In May 2019, Zipline raised $190 million on a post money valuation of $1 billion. The investors for the new funding commitment included The Rise Fund, Baillie Gifford, Google Ventures, Katalyst Ventures, Temasek Holdings, Bright Success Capital, Goldman Sachs, Oakhouse Partners, Toyota Tsusho and the Design to Improve Life Fund.[19]
Services
The company's drones are designed and built in-house.[20] A drone weighs approximately 10 kilograms (22 lb), carries a payload of up to 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb). Drones can deliver medical supplies to 80 km (50 mi) in 45 minutes.[5] Medical staff at a clinic send an order via SMS, WhatsApp message or a dedicated Zipline website and a confirmation message is returned.[21] Flight paths are selected and programmed using information from a 3-D satellite map and manual ground surveys.[7] A technician at the base monitors the flight.[22] The location data is also sent to the country's main air traffic control system to coordinate with commercial airliners.[22] The drone is launched by a supercapacitor-powered electric catapult and returns by catching an arresting gear[23][5] which it is able to accurately find by having its GPS accuracy enhanced by a Real-time kinematic system[24]. The drone does not land at the delivery site but drops the package with a parachute. A payload can land within a 5 m (16 ft) diameter landing zone.[7]
The cost per delivery is the same as the previous motorcycle serve they were using but with greater reliability due to not needing roads[25].
Operations
Rwanda
Zipline first started delivering whole blood by drone from 2°04′44″S 29°46′46″E / 2.0789585°S 29.7794255°E , as it has a short shelf life of only 42 days, multiple different blood types, requires storage at 1 to 6 °C (34 to 43 °F) until issue, and requires timeliness of delivery in emergencies. Overall costs are reduced by supply chain optimization and waste minimization.[7] Rwanda has a mountainous geography and poor road conditions making an aerial delivery system more efficient,[26] The cost of delivery via drone is reported to be comparable to conventional means by road especially in the cases of emergencies. This is largely due to the poor infrastructure conditions in Rwanda, even though Rwanda is densely populated with a small landmass.[17] The Rwandan government also modified its aviation regulations to accommodate the service.[17]
On December 21, 2016, Ghislane Ihimbazwe, a two-year old, was saved after she received an emergency delivery of two units of blood by a Zipline drone delivery. Her case was credited as the first life saved by the delivery system.[4] (Each "unit" of blood is approximately 1 U.S. pt or 470 ml.) As of May 2018, the company had delivered about 7,000 units of blood by drone,[27] in the first phase that covered 21 hospitals. A second drone launching site was added in December 2018 in Kayonza, in the eastern part of the country.[13] The company hoped this would bring coverage to 80% of the country.[28] As of September 2019, the company had made 20,000 blood deliveries and flown more than 1,000,000 km (620,000 mi).[13]
United States
Zipline is working with the Federal Aviation Administration to produce rules for drone flight deliveries.[29] Specifically this will allow the operation of drones beyond visual line of sight.[30]
Zipline is establishing a site in Reno, Nevada, to service seven hospitals. "Rural healthcare is a challenge in every country in the world including in the United States," said Rinaudo. "You now see much bigger and wealthier countries like the U.S. actually using Rwanda as a role model."[30] Drones could help medical logistics in rural areas and allow easier access than by road.[31]
Ghana
In April 2019, Ghana's president, Nana Akufo-Addo, announced the opening of a distribution centre.[32] Vice President Mahamuda Bawumia launched the first Zipline drone to Tafo Hospital in Ghana on April 24, 2019. This first delivery contained yellow fever vaccines and was ordered to prevent stock-out.[33] The drones will cover 500 health facilities within an 80 km (50 mi) range.[33] The company has a contract with Ghana to make 600 deliveries a day for four years at a cost of about $12.5 million.[33] Each distribution center will house 30 drones.[34]
India
In September 2019 the Government of Maharashtra in India, announced Zipline will delivery emergency medicine throughout the state. They expect to launch operations in early 2020 building to 10 Distribution centres across Maharashtra in phases over the next few years with the aim of covering almost all of its 120 million citizens[35].
US military
In October 2019 it was announced that Zipline demonstrated how autonomous delivery drones might assist in providing medical supplies during combat. During exercises between the US and Australian militaries between July 30th and September 5th, 2019, over 400 deliveries of mock blood supplies were made during mass casualty simulations.[36]
A 79-mile flight was claimed as the longest-range US based commercial drone delivery flight.[citation needed]
Second generation drone
On April 3, 2018, Zipline announced their second generation drone.[37].
The new drone is capable of flying at a speed of up to 128 km/h (80 mph), and a cruising speed of 101 km/h (63 mph). The new drone is 21 km/h (13 mph) faster than Zipline’s previous drone and has a range of 160 km (99 mi) round trip and carries up to 1.75 kilograms (3.9 lb) of cargo (enough for three units of blood).[5] The new drone is part of a redesign of the company's logistics system. The company's additional goals include decreasing the amount of time between receiving an order and the launch of a fulfillment flight from 10 minutes to 1.[5]
This company is able to make 500 deliveries per day at each launching center.[4] The maximum distance covered by the current service, as of May 2019, is about 80 km (50 mi) – about a 45-minute flight time.[5]
The drone has dual propellers located front-to-back along the centerline of the fuselage, which improves its reliability since the drone can function with only one operating propeller. This drone has a small, fixed tailhook as opposed to the previous drone’s deployed tailhook with moving mechanisms. The design also features a more streamlined battery that is easily slotted into place and charges more quickly, enabling more flights per day.[38] While the older drone used a rigid carbon-composite skin, the new generation has an inner frame constructed out of carbon-fiber and an outer shell made of polystyrene.[38] The wing span was widened and has a length of 12 feet (3.7 m).[38] to enable the drone to fly faster and farther while carrying a larger cargo. The new drone is launched with an acceleration from 0–70 miles per hour (110 km/h) in a third of a second.[38]
This second-generation drone was listed in Time's "Best inventions of 2018" list.[39]
Drone port locations
Location | Country | Coordinates | Opened |
---|---|---|---|
Muhanga | Rwanda | 2°04′44″S 29°46′46″E / 2.0789585°S 29.7794255°E | 2016 |
Kayonza | Rwanda | 1°56′21″S 30°30′25″E / 1.9392677°S 30.506818°E | 2018 |
Omenako | Ghana | 6°05′13″N 0°28′38″W / 6.086884°N 0.4773608°W | 2019 |
Ashanti Mampong | Ghana | 7°02′50″N 1°24′31″W / 7.0471874°N 1.4086536°W | 2019 |
Walewale | Ghana | 10°21′N 0°48′W / 10.35°N 0.8°W | 2019 |
References
- ^ a b Petrova, Magdalena; Kolodny, Lora (April 3, 2018). "Zipline's new drone can deliver medical supplies at 79 miles per hour". CNBC. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ Rinaudo, Keller, "How we're using drones to deliver blood and save lives", TED, retrieved October 14, 2018
- ^ Wyrobek, Kennan. "Engineering a new mission for drones". TEDMED. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
- ^ a b c Baker, Aryn. "The American Drones Saving Lives in Rwanda". Time. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Ackerman, Evan; Koziol, Michael (April 30, 2019). "In the Air with Zipline's Medical Delivery Drones". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
- ^ "Ghana Health Service gives full details of drone health service delivery system". www.ghanaweb.com. December 5, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Rosen, Jonathan W. (June 8, 2017). "Zipline's Ambitious Medical Drone Delivery in Africa". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
- ^ Ezell, Stephen (August 7, 2017). "Zipline Enables Real-time Delivery of Essential Medical Supplies in Rwanda".
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ "UPS Foundation supports Ghana's vaccine drone delivery network". May 3, 2019.
- ^ Kelland, Kate (April 24, 2019). "Drones to deliver vaccines, blood and drugs across Ghana". Reuters. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ "Why Romotive shut down". Simplebotics. February 8, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ "Zipline International". Crunchbase. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Zipline takes flight in Ghana, making it the world's largest drone-delivery network". CNBC. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
- ^ "Bono is really into drones now (but it's good)". FastCompany. September 12, 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ della Cava, Marco (April 4, 2016). "Drone startup backed by Allen, Yang to deliver medical supplies in Rwanda". USA Today. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ "Zipline International: Drones to the rescue". CNBC. May 22, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018. (Updated May 9, 2019.)
- ^ a b c Khanna, Tarun (July 1, 2018). "When Technology Gets Ahead of Society". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
- ^ "Zipline Launches Fastest Delivery Drone in the World" (PDF). Zipline. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 22, 2019.
- ^ Shieber, Jonathan (May 17, 2019). "Zipline's new $190 million funding means it's the newest billion dollar contender in the game of drones". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ George, Alice Lloyd (December 25, 2017). "Using drones to build the ambulance fleet of the future". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
- ^ Murphy, Mike (August 24, 2017). "If you want to see how delivery drones should work, look at Africa". Quartz Africa. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- ^ a b Simmons, Dan (October 14, 2016). "Rwanda starts commercial drone deliveries". BBC News. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
- ^ "Zipline drones airdrop medical supplies to African villages", TechCrunch, October 13, 2016, retrieved August 24, 2018
- ^ "r/IAmA - We are engineers and operators from Zipline, the world's only drone delivery service making lifesaving deliveries across Rwanda and Ghana. In the last 7 days, our drones flew over 42,000 km, making 525 deliveries. As us anything!". reddit. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ "TOR115 – Zipline with Ryan Oksenhorn". Aidpreneur. July 19, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ "2018 Disruptor 50: No. 25 Zipline International". CNBC. May 22, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
- ^ Margaritoff, Marco (May 24, 2018). "Zipline Has Successfully Aerially Delivered 7,000 Units of Blood to Rwandan Hospitals". The Drive. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
- ^ Okertchiri, Jamila Akweley (November 24, 2018). "From Muhanga To The Rest Of Rwanda; How Zipline Is Providing Smarter Blood Distribution Service". Modern Ghana. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
- ^ "Blood delivery drone applies for US trial". BBC News. April 3, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
- ^ a b "The World's Fastest Drones Want to Save Lives in the US, Too". Wired. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
- ^ "These Medical Delivery Drones Could Soon Be Supplying U.S. Hospitals". Fast Company. April 13, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
- ^ "Drone delivery startup Zipline launches UAV medical program in Ghana". Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ a b c "An ambitious drone delivery health service in Ghana is tackling key logistics challenges". Retrieved May 23, 2019.
- ^ Ackerman, Evan (April 24, 2019). "Zipline Expands Medical Drone-Delivery Service to Ghana". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
- ^ www.ETHealthworld.com. "Govt of Maharashtra, Zipline and SII announce India's first autonomous instant drone delivery service - ET HealthWorld". ETHealthworld.com. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ Trask, Matthew (October 23, 2019). "Zipline partners with the US military to test medical drones". Commercial Drone Professional. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ Giles, Martin (April 3, 2018). "Zipline launches the world's fastest commercial delivery drone". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Lydgate, Anthony (September 18, 2018). "How Zipline Helps Remote Regions Get Blood From a Drone". Wired. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
- ^ Baker, Aryn (December 3, 2018). "TIME's Best Inventions 2018: Lifesaving Delivery Drones: Secong-Generation Zipline". Time Magazine. Retrieved December 7, 2018.