Narayana Health, Airbound Collaborate To Use Drones For Delivery Of Medical Goods

 

 

Bengaluru : Airbound, a Bengaluru-based drone startup, on Tuesday announced a collaboration with Narayana Health to use drones for the delivery of emergency medical kits, medicines and equipment in Bengaluru.

Speaking to reporters, Airbound's Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Naman Pushpa, said the project, which will be implemented on a pilot basis, took shape considering difficulties being faced in the transportation of necessary and emergency medical goods in Bengaluru's dense traffic.

 

"In medical emergencies, time is very important. Using drones will help us significantly cut down delivery times for medicines, blood samples, testing kits and other necessary medical equipment compared to the conventional modes of transportation," he added.

Further, Pushpa said the collaboration will run for three months on an experimental basis, with about 10 deliveries per day. The drone, to be used for the delivery of medicines, weighs around 2.5 kg, and it can carry goods weighing up to one kg.

 

"This will fly at a speed of 60 km per hour and reach heights of 400 metres. A special software has been developed for the drone named Rudra, and it will ensure safe keeping and delivery of goods," he added.

 

Airbound has already raised 8.65 million dollars from companies like Humba Ventures, LightSpeed, Tesla, Anduril and Ather Energy, as against its target of 10 million dollars, he said. "These funds will be used to support the company's plans to expand its operations beyond the delivery of medical goods and enhance its technology," he added.

Founder Chairman of Narayana Health, Dr Devi Shetty, said Narayana Health has been constantly adopting innovative technologies in order to improve its operational efficiency and care of its patients.

"The collaboration with Airbound is another step in this direction. We hope that this collaboration will improve the speed of delivery of medical goods and their reliability," Shetty said.