ANA: Very 1st demo experiment of drone take-off and landing during scheduled flights and delivery of medicine following official guidelines
Last June, the Cabinet Secretariat, the Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism published “Guidelines for the delivery of medicines by drone.”
ANA HD along with AIN HD and Hokkaido Ministry conducted Japan’s first demonstration experiment based on this guideline.
After the patient received online medical treatment from Wakkanai Hospital, AIN HD provided drug dispensing and online medication guidance, and ANA HD conducted a demo experiment to deliver the drug to the patient by drone.
Delivery of medicines by drone is attracting attention as a mean to providing medical care in remote areas.
A lockable container was mounted on the drone to comply with the new guidelines that indicate that measures such as locking the container should be taken to avoid opening the package by a third party.
Moreover, with the cooperation of Hokkaido Airports, ANA HD is the first in Japan to conduct a demo experiment to fly and depart a logistics drone at an airport where regular air flights operate.
The purpose of the experiment was to verify the connection between drone logistics and air logistics.
These connections will enable rapid and consistent transportation from rural areas to urban areas, and in the future, it is expected to build a new hub-and-spoke distribution network centered on airports and promote industry in rural areas.