Drones trial has lift off across Argyll
A successful drone trial to fly medical supplies and equipment between Oban and Mull will see the service extended in September.
Drone delivery company Skyports has announced a collaboration with Vodafone and digital consultants Deloitte to fly multiple routes between hospitals and medical practices across Argyll and Bute.
In May, Skyports started a ‘UK first’ with a two-week series of test flights between Oban hospital and Mull - cutting a six-hour journey by road and ferry down to 30-minute round trips.
The next step involves a threemonth project, although exact routes, islands and health care centres have yet to be finalised, with talks ongoing with the Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership.
Skyports will establish a ground control operation centre - at a place to be decided - and start delivering pathology samples, medicine, essential PPE and Covid testing kits.
The process requires formal approval from the Civil Aviation Authority. Commercial operations for the NHS are expected to start in 2021.
NHS staff will be able to make on-demand and scheduled requests to use Skyports drones, via technology developed by Deloitte.
The drones will be remotely piloted and will fly automatically along predefined routes.
Communication between the drone and the ground control station will be provided using Vodafone’s 4G network and satellite communications.
Extra safety measures will be put in place to ensure connectivity coverage is provided at all times, Skyports said.
By the end of the project, it aims to fully integrate drones into the local NHS supply chain, build a route network and create a service for permanent operations.
Duncan Walker, chief executive officer at Skyports, said: ‘Using drone deliveries within supply chains can create significant time and cost savings.
‘This project is a natural progression from our recent trials with the NHS in Scotland as we scale and develop our operations, supporting a wider network of hospitals and medical practices as they continue to respond to the Covid pandemic.
‘We want more healthcare facilities to benefit from our service over the long-term and the experience of this important initiative will put us another step closer to permanent operations that the whole of the NHS could soon benefit from.’
Anne Sheehan, of Vodafone Business UK, said: ‘There will be huge benefits from the use of drones connected to the mobile network that can be flown safely and securely beyond line of sight. This is a brilliant example of how using connected drones can radically change the way things are done and really change people’s lives.’
Scott Campbell, partner and leader in Deloitte Ventures, said: ‘Hard-to-reach communities in Argyll and Bute will benefit from drones as an alternative to land or sea transportation. This project is a powerful example of the value that drones could bring to communities and wider society in the coming years.’
During the trials, the drone leaving Oban flew at a height of around 100m with general air space starting at 120m and upwards. It flies well below 120m to avoid collisions and uses pre-programmed routes to avoid going directly over houses.
The unmanned aerial vehicle used in the trial can cruise at 55mph, has a flight range of 62 miles and has a maximum take-off weight of 20kg.
Although its initial take-off mode generates noise, the ‘aeroplane cruise mode’ it flies in, is inaudible.