ESA BIC Noordwijk alumnus AVY partners with ANWB MAA, PostNL, KPN, Erasmus MC & Sanquin to realize drones for medical use. On the right: Patrique Zaman, founder of AVY.
For a period of three years, drone company AVY and its partners will test a long range drone delivery service for medicines.
The consortium, called Medical Drone Service, will research how the system can impact healthcare in The Netherlands.
Complementary consortium
The consortium consists of ANWB Medical Air Assistance, who will operate the system. PostNL is the logistics partner. Erasmus MC (hospital) and Sanquin (blood bank) are the healthcare partners and the drone will be connected to the mobile network of KPN.
AVY, an alumnus of the ESA BIC Noordwijk program, of course delivers the drones!
In the video below (in Dutch) you’ll get a sense of what’s possible:
Let’s get vertical
In the test, MDS will transport healthcare items like medicine, blood and tissue samples or an AED.
The drone used is called the AVY Aera. This is a so called Vertical Take Off and Landing wing drone, which means exactly what is says: it can take off and land vertically (and then fly horizontally).
This has a great advantage in crowded surroundings like cities. For instance, the vertical landing removes the need for a large landing strip, as most wing drones (like airplanes) need an approach slope to land.
