Commercial Drone Test Moves to Africa

UPS recently entered into a partnership Zipline , a medical drone delivery start-up, start the transmission of electrical energy health Rwanda supplies. Included are a lot of Gavi, Vaccine Antigen Alliance, the Gates Foundation supports non-profit specialising in immunisations.

Zipline first distribution therapeutic tools packages will begin in July and mean startup begins to drone delivery in Africa before unmanned Amazon vehicles drop any orders from the doorsteps of the United StatesAlthough UPS, Zipline, Gavi arrangement may sound quite a social project, is certainly a commercial tech support structures.

Zipline is a California non-profit venture backed by $ 19 million(N3.8bn) in venture capital. Investors are  Sequoia Capital,  Google Ventures, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, and Paul Willard, a former aerodynamics engineer now Capital Reduction. UPS provides $ 800,000(N160m) grant through the Gavi UPS Foundation, but the deal also brings expertise in global logistics giant.

“The focus is on the humanitarian aspect, but UPS is always looking to learn commitments like this,” UPS spokesman Glenn Zaccaria told TechCrunch. “We will also bring … a combination of expertise in logistics, supply chain and cold chain management,” he added, and notes the UPS right, not only for its foundation, participating in the partnership.

Africa is still Testbed commercial drone services and delivery. Zipline founder, Keller Rinaudo, saw the potential to overtake the medical delivery drone after seeing some of the current override innovation reaches its limits.

During his expedition in Tanzania, he criticised the mobile phone-based alarm system for patient clinics desperately special medical supplies. “The digital database and mobile phones allow people to know when someone needed help, but the other half of the system-level medical supplies and transportation infrastructure to get them there-was missing,” said Rinaudo.

He began working Zipline co-founded the Will Hetzler (a former Harvard classmate) and robotics expert Keenan Wyrobek specialized drones and logistics structures related to the delivery of health care in Africa. They started by bringing investment, designed to have Zipline specialized drones, and began flight testing facility just off San Francisco.

Rinaudo emphasises Zipline mission “to provide products that can save lives”, but also emphasizes it is a business. “We are selling the service of governments and public health organizations to provide a higher level of health care for millions living in rural and remote areas,” said Rinaudo.

While speaking to TechCrunch , he confirmed the company has started to book revenues, although declined to say how much. Rinaudo said Zipline plans to expand outside of Rwanda and the estimated value of urgent healthcare logistics services in Africa is north of $ 1 billion( N200bn)

The launch of the first in Rwanda has a lot to do towards the Government of Rwanda’s commitment to develop the use of ICT infrastructure and commercial drone, in particular.

After 2015, the government announced plans to launch one of the world’s first drone ports and has developed a regulatory framework for commercial unmanned (UAV) through the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authourity.

“Places such as Rwanda is not held back by the old models, such as the United States of ancient air traffic control system” – Keller Rinaudo, Zipline founder

This reflects the South African recently passage commercial drone legislation ([1945902million] covered here Techcrunch ), which regulates the sector in the Civil Aviation Authority and created a special drone Commercial licenses. These frames ineffective misconception that the lure of the drone testing in Africa is due to a complete lack of regulation.

“It is not the case at all,” said Rinaudo. “People think the attraction testing drones in Africa is because there are no laws. Places such as Rwanda are not held back by the old models, such as the United States of ancient air traffic control system. They shave a simpler air spaces, smaller and more innovative governments, and may be taken by a modern control practices faster.”

This environment has brought a wave of funding and testing of current and planned drone activities throughout the continent.

South Africa, the Rocketman is expected to book $ 1 million(N200m) in revenue in 2016, the “antenna data solutions” services for the mining, agriculture and forestry, and civil engineering. Swiss led the company Flying Donkey is working on an unmanned robot aircraft to deliver cargo anywhere in Africa.

Another aim to Afro Tech is controlled by Red Line project to launch drones open source cargo drone, and routes. And the Bulgarian company Dronamics (supported by  Speed Invest ) is a dialogue between the governments of the three African UAV begin commercial services in 2017.

When Zipline, UPS, and Gavin partnership will fully test to Rwanda in late July, CEO Keller Rinaudo believes a milestone for Africa and the drone industry. “When we launch it is the world’s first drone delivery functions at the national level in the world.”