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Airspace Link Tests Drone Delivery for Medical Supplies

Airspace Link worked with Beaumont Health, a health care provider in southeast Michigan.

Airspace Link worked with Beaumont Health, a health care provider in southeast Michigan.
Airspace Link worked with Beaumont Health, a health care provider in southeast Michigan.
Airspace Link

Airspace Link, a provider of digital drone safety infrastructure services, said it completed a successful 10-day flight operation showcasing a real-world drone transportation program for the movement of critical medical items.

Using a Michigan Mobility Funding Grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation's Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, Airspace Link brought together drone operator MissionGO, Beaumont Health and metropolitan Detroit community leaders to perform Michigan's first real-world package delivery operations via UAS (Uncrewed Aircraft System or drone).

The Michigan Mobility Grant was awarded to Airspace Link with the ambition to establish a drone delivery network in southeast Michigan to transport urgently needed medical items safely and efficiently.  Airspace Link's AirHub Platform was used to perform the initial community assessments, including air and ground data analysis, to understand optimal routes and use cases to identify ideal partners as first movers on the network.  

Airspace Link worked with Beaumont Health, a health care provider in southeast Michigan, who recognized the opportunity that drones will provide for improving patient health care by moving medical items more efficiently. MissionGO, a leader in drone delivery services, with experience transporting organs and other medical items, was selected to execute the real-world drone delivery services..

"This 10-day operation was just Phase I of what is promising to be an incredibly innovative future for Southeast Michigan and for UAS package deliveries as a whole," says Scott Plank, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of MissionGO.

"Drones offer the benefit of expedited, on-demand, and contactless delivery. We are optimistic that drones could help us serve our patients," said Melanie Fisher, VP of supply chain operations for Beaumont Health. 

Airspace Link led the project, providing the digital infrastructure and data services required to enable the safe planning and execution of scalable drone delivery and logistics services in Michigan through its proprietary AirHub Platform.

"Participation with the city, county, and state will assist in driving successful end results, including economic growth and new, sustainable mobility options for residents and businesses over time.  We're currently deployed in over ten communities throughout the state of Michigan and look forward to continuing to work together to propel Michigan forward as a leader in drone innovation" says Michael Healander, Co-Founder & CEO of Airspace Link.

The data collected from the 10 days of operations will include a transportation impact analysis, including an assessment of the opportunity to reduce carbon emissions and vehicle miles traveled as drone delivery operations scale. Ultimately, the data will be used to inform a model that the State of Michigan can use to help understand the tremendous impact that drones can have on the environment, the economy and, especially in this case, improved patient outcomes for healthcare providers when integrated at scale. The model can then be applied to any location in the State.

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