Drone developer Matternet has unveiled Matternet Station, to support its vision of logistics in an urban environment.
Integrated into Matternet’s M2 Drone and Cloud Platform, the stations provide an interface for sending and receiving medical payloads, and a safe and secure drone portal for hospital campuses.
The stations, which will initially serve healthcare systems in Switzerland and the USA, will help hospitals and their supply partners to integrate automated drone delivery into their laboratory and pharmacy operations.
Hospitals can move blood diagnostics, pathology specimens and medicine between their facilities and suppliers with fast and predictable aerial delivery.
Andreas Raptopoulos, CEO of Matternet, said, “We are building the technology platform for extremely fast, point-to-point, urban medical delivery, enabling hospital systems to shrink patient waiting times and save millions of dollars per year through the centralization of laboratories and medical inventory.”
Matternet is working with the US Federal Aviation Administration to Type Certify its Matternet M2 Drone and Cloud Platform.
The station is connected to Matternet Cloud Platform and gives flight directors sitting in a remote mission control center the ability to monitor operations including inspecting the vehicle and checking airspace.
The station is around 3m (10ft) tall, keeping vehicles high enough off the ground to not compromise public safety.
It is equipped with technology to guide the M2 drone to land on the station’s platform.
The station has an integrated authentication system, only allowing authorized personnel to deposit or retrieve payloads by scanning their hospital ID badge.
In standard configuration, the station holds four payload boxes, which are kept at a controlled temperature.
Stuart Ginn, medical director of WakeMed Innovations, said, “Since the start of our drone program, in partnership with Matternet and UPS, it has proven significant efficiencies in medical specimen transport, and we are already seeing the benefits for our patients as a result of faster and more predictable deliveries.”
Matternet have released a video to demonstrate the service, click here to view.