East Africa is leading the world in drone delivery
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
A second East African nation announced Thursday it will launch a fully automated drone delivery program. The drones will fly themselves, far from the view of humans — a move that’s not yet legal in the U.S. While plenty of countries have dabbled in drone delivery, no program has matched the scale and impact of what’s unfolding in Rwanda and now, Tanzania.
In early 2018, Tanzania’s government will begin using drones to deliver medical supplies such as blood and vaccines to remote areas. The government expects to save lives thanks to faster delivery of medical supplies. Rwanda has already completed 1,400 similar deliveries.
“Everyone has this paradigm that robotics and artificial intelligence starts in the U.S., made by rich people for rich people. It couldn’t be farther from the truth,” said Keller Rinaudo, CEO of Zipline, which is supplying the drones. “There’s a major shift [occurring] where it’s not about the country with the most resources; it’s more about the countries with modern regulatory reform and a willingness to try new things.”
Photo courtesy of Andrew Turner.
Source: CNN Tech (link opens in a new window)
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
