News
Abu Dhabi To Use Drones For Transporting Medical Supplies
Abu Dhabi’s drone delivery system is planned to become operational in 2022.
It doesn’t take much for any road to turn into a long parking lot — a single car crash usually does the trick quite reliably. Being stuck in traffic sucks when traveling to or from work, but even a relatively minor traffic jam can have grave consequences when it involves the transportation of medical supplies.
But do you know where traffic jams are a very rare occurrence? In the sky. That’s why Abu Dhabi’s Department of Health is working with the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority and two drone companies to create a new drone delivery system capable of delivering medical supplies between 40 stations across Abu Dhabi.
One of the two drone companies helping make the project happen is the Abu Dhabi-based drone logistics company SkyGo, and the other company is Matternet, a California-based technology platform for urban aerial delivery.
SkyGo brings to the table its in-depth knowledge of the Abu Dhabi healthcare landscape and expertise in logistics and distribution in the Gulf region, while Matternet has extensive real-world experience with commercial Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) flying.
“We are seeing Matternet’s vision of building city-wide drone transportation infrastructure come to fruition in Abu Dhabi,” said Andreas Raptopoulos, Matternet’s CEO. “This will be a model for the rest of the world on how to successfully scale drone delivery for the benefit of healthcare and society overall”.
Also Read: UAE To Unleash Hordes Of Cloud-Triggering Drones
Abu Dhabi’s drone delivery system is planned to become operational in 2022. When it does, it will make Abu Dhabi the first city in the MENA region to use drones in healthcare logistics.
The United Arab Emirates has experimented with several different applications of drones in the past, using them to reduce response time to criminal and traffic reports or to spur rainfall in the desert.
News
NASA Forms New Partnership With Saudi Space Agency
The pair will collaborate on the Center for Space Futures, advancing space tech by bringing together public and private stakeholders.
Saudi Arabia’s space industry is on the brink of substantial expansion after generating $400 million in revenue in 2022, according to a report by the Saudi Communications, Space and Technology Commission.
Now, in a new venture with NASA, plans for a “Center for Space Futures” are set to further drive the Kingdom’s aspirations of becoming a leading player in space exploration and technology.
Capturing moments from the joint delegation visit with leaders from the Saudi and American Space Agencies @NASA to @PSU_RUH, along with scenes showcasing the audience's engagement. pic.twitter.com/oB1cFTiRNl
— وكالة الفضاء السعودية (@saudispace) May 14, 2024
The partnership between NASA and Saudi Arabia goes beyond economic advantages. The pair have already cooperated on preliminary work for the Artemis II lunar mission, which is slated for a September 2025 launch and aims to land astronauts near the moon’s South Pole.
Also Read: Plans Underway For Massive Middle East Autonomous Freight Network
During a visit to the capital, Riyadh, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson emphasized in a TV interview the broader objectives of the collaboration, which encompass “returning to the moon and then [to] Mars” while utilizing space exploration to glean important insights into climate change. The NASA spokesman also reiterated the space agency’s dedication to collaborating with Saudi Arabia on other future ventures.
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