1000/1000
Hot
Most Recent
Zipline is an American medical product delivery company that is headquartered in South San Francisco, California, and which designs, manufactures, and operates delivery drones. The company operates distribution centers in Rwanda, Ghana, and the US, with signed agreements to begin service in Japan , Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, and Kenya. As of December 2021, its drones have made over 225,000 commercial deliveries. The company's drones deliver whole blood, platelets, frozen plasma, and cryoprecipitate along with medical products including vaccines, infusions and routine medical commodities. As of September 2021, more than 75% of blood deliveries in Rwanda outside of Kigali use Zipline drones. In April 2019 in Ghana, the company began using drones to deliver vaccines, blood, and medicines. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted a Part 107 waiver to Zipline's partner organization Novant Health for the delivery of medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) to medical facilities in North Carolina. Along with nine other drone delivery companies, the FAA selected Zipline to participate in a type certification program for delivery drones.
In 2011, Keller Rinaudo founded Romotive, which produced an iPhone-controlled robotic toy called Romo.[1] In 2014, Romotive shut down[2] and the company focused on delivering medical supplies using drones. Co-founders Keenan WyrobekTemplate:Reasonator and William HetzlerTemplate:Reasonator joined at this time.[3]
In 2016, Zipline signed a deal with the Rwandan government to build a distribution center near Muhanga.[3]
In April 2018, Zipline announced a second-generation drone,[4] which was listed in Time's "Best inventions of 2018" list.[5] In April 2019, Zipline opened the first of its four planned distribution centers in Ghana to supply 2,500 health facilities.[6] The fourth Ghanaian distribution center became operational in June 2020.[7]
In May 2019, Zipline raised $190 million on a post-money valuation of $1.2 billion.[8]In September 2019, musician Bono joined the board.[9] According to Rinaudo: "Rural healthcare is a challenge in every country in the world, including in the United States ... You now see much bigger and wealthier countries like the US using Rwanda as a role model."[10] Zipline was named CNBC 's 2018 (25th place), 2019 (39th place), and 2020 (7th place)[11] on its Disruptor 50 list.[12]
In November 2020, Zipline along with other manufacturers started undergoing airworthiness certification with the FAA that would allow their "Sparrow" model of plane to fly in the US.[13][14] The following February, Zipline announced it was adding ultra-low temperature freezers to their distribution centers to allow them to deliver temperature-sensitive COVID-19 vaccines[15]
In May 2021, Bloomberg News reported Zipline would be delivering vaccines to Cross River State and Northern Kaduna State in Nigeria.[16] The following month, Zipline raised $250 million in new funding at a valuation of $2.75 billion.[17]
The company designs and manufactures its drones,[18] and builds and operates its own distribution centers, which also serve as a drone airport.[19] Medical staff at remote hospitals and clinics place orders with Zipline,[20] a fulfillment operator receives this order and prepares the medical products into a special delivery package with a parachute.[19].
A Zipline flight operator then packs the medical products into a drone and performs pre-flight checks. The drone is then launched with a supercapacitor-powered electric catapult launcher and accelerates to 0 to 70 miles per hour (0 to 113 km/h) in 0.33 seconds.[19] The drone then flies itself to its delivery site while a remote pilot at each distribution center monitors all drones in flight.[21] [19] The drone descends to 20–35 metres (66–115 ft) before dropping the package under a paper parachute. A payload can land within a 5 m (16 ft) diameter landing zone.[3] The drone then returns to the distribution center and lands by catching an arresting gear.[22] [23] [24] A Zipline distribution center can deliver medical supplies reliably anywhere within 80 km (50 mi), even accounting for mountainous terrain and severe weather.
The drone cruises at 101 km/h (63 mph) at an altitude of 80–120 metres (260–390 ft) above ground level, ensuring deliveries are made within 45 minutes[23] . The drone can carry up to 1.75 kilograms (3.9 lb) of cargo.[23] Each distribution center is capable of making 500 deliveries per day.[25]
The drones have a quickly-replaceable battery that allows rapid turnaround between flights.[19] It has an inner carbon-fiber frame and an outer polystyrene shell.[19] The wingspan is 12 feet (3.7 m).[19]
The drones have two propellers for redundancy and can fly safely on a single propeller or motor. A parachute that will bring the drone to the ground can be deployed if a larger set of faults occur.[26] If the drone crashes, the outer components are frangible, breaking to release energy[27] and impact the ground with less force.[28]
The company operates two distribution centers in Rwanda [23][25] and began deliveries in Muhanga in late 2016.[3] Rwanda has mountainous geography and poor road conditions, making an aerial delivery system more efficient than the use of land vehicles.[29] The cost of delivery via drone is comparable to that of delivery by road, especially in emergencies. [30] A second drone-launching site was added in December 2018 in Kayonza, in the eastern part of the country.[6][31] The company hoped this would bring coverage to 80% of the country. [32] Kayonza is in a busy area with other flights and military camps, which adds to the challenge of monitoring its drones.[31] As of September 2019, the company had made 20,000 blood deliveries and had flown more than 1,000,000 km (620,000 mi).[6] As of May 2019, more than 65% of blood deliveries in Rwanda outside of the capital city Kigali use Zipline drones. [33]
Zipline operates four distribution centers in Ghana.[34] In April 2019, Ghana's president Nana Akufo-Addo announced the opening of a distribution center. [35] Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia launched the first Zipline drone to Tafo Hospital on April 24, 2019. This first delivery contained yellow fever vaccines to prevent stock-out.[36] The drones will serve 500 health facilities within an 80 km (50 mi) range. [36] The company has a contract with Ghana to make 600 deliveries a day for four years at the cost of about $12.5 million. [36] Each distribution center will house 30 drones.[37][38]
In June 2019, the company delivered oral rehydration salt (ORS) to treat 113 students of Mangoase Senior High School who were suffering from acute diarrhea. Within 20 minutes, Zipline's drone dispatched 125 doses of ORS.[39]
Zipline is working with the FAA to develop rules for drone operation beyond the line of sight.[10][40]
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the FAA granted a Part 107 waiver to Novant Health in partnership with Zipline for the delivery of medical supplies and personal protective equipment to facilities in North Carolina. The company plans to offer deliveries to homes.[41] In September 2020, announced a trial with Walmart stores to deliver goods in Arkansas starting in 2021.[42]
In September 2019, the government of Maharashtra announced Zipline would deliver emergency medicine throughout the country. The proposed deployment includes the building of 10 distribution centers to serve 120 million people.[43]
In December 2019, Bono announced Zipline would open three distribution centers in Visayas, Philippines , to cover hard-to-reach areas. [44]
In February 2021, Zipline announced a plan to construct three distribution centers in Kaduna State, Nigeria.[45] These distribution centers would have ultra-cold storage that is capable of safely storing COVID-19 vaccines, for which health facilities in the state could then place on-demand orders without needing ultra-cold storage of their own. The state also intends to use Zipline's service to transport other health products, including blood, medication, and routine vaccines. In May 2021, Zipline announced a similar agreement with Cross River State.[16] In February 2022, Zipline announced another agreement with Bayelsa State.[46]
In April 2021, Zipline announced a partnership with an investor, Toyota Tsusho, to deliver medical products in Japan.[47] While all Zipline facilities are staffed by locally hired operators, the facilities operated in Japan are distinct in that they are intended to be staffed by Toyota Tsusho employees, with Zipline providing hardware and training in an OEM capacity.
In December 2021, the company announced an agreement to open four distribution centers in Cote d'Ivoire.[48]
In February 2022, the company announced an agreement to build a distribution center in Kisumu County, Kenya.[49]
Between July 30 and September 5, 2019, Zipline partnered with the US and Australian militaries, delivering over 400 mock blood supplies during mass casualty simulations.[50]
Location | Country | Administrative Division | Opened | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Muhanga | Rwanda | Southern Province | October 13, 2016 | Zipline's first production distribution center |
Kayonza | Rwanda | Eastern Province | March 1, 2019 | |
Omenako | Ghana | Eastern Region[51] | April 19, 2019 | |
Ashanti Mampong | Ghana | Ashanti Region[52] | October 19, 2019 | |
Vobsi | Ghana | North East Region[53] | December 21, 2019 | |
Kannapolis | US | North Carolina[54] | May 22, 2020 | |
Sefwi Wiawso | Ghana | Western North Region[55] | May 22, 2020 | |
Pune | India | Maharashtra | proposed[25] | awaiting approval to fly from DGCAIndia and MoCA GoI[56] |
Nandurbar | India | Maharashtra | proposed[25] | awaiting approval to fly from DGCAIndia and MoCA_GoI |
Nandurbar | India | Maharashtra | proposed[25] | awaiting approval to fly from DGCAIndia and MoCA_GoI |
Visayas | Philippines | proposed[57] | In partnership with Philippine Red Cross | |
Kachia | Nigeria | Kaduna State | proposed[58] | |
Kaduna | Nigeria | Kaduna State | proposed[58] | |
Birnin Gwari | Nigeria | Kaduna State | proposed[58] | |
tbc | Nigeria | Bayelsa State | proposed[46] |
Zipline plans to start transporting COVID-19 vaccines in April 2021 everywhere its drones currently operate and is adding ultra-cold storage at all of its distribution centers.[59] Clinics should be able to receive vaccine doses at an ultra-low temperature in less than an hour.[59]
One of the first countries to receive such deliveries was Ghana, where the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines were delivered by drone using Zipline.[60][61]
Zipline raised $233 million by May 2020 and another $250 million in June 2021.[17][62]