Nigeria Uses Drones For Delivery
Nigerian-based medical logistics startup, LifeBank will be adding drone delivery to its methods of transportation. The company is the first African-led company to implement Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) flights for healthcare logistics. Unlike Visual Line Of Sight (VLOS) flights where the pilot has to see their unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones at every time, for BVLOS, drones can go beyond the sight of the pilot without human interference. This means more reach into remote and previously inaccessible areas.
The service will deliver packages up to five pounds in 30 minutes or less using small drones. The drones will be built with multiple redundancies, as well as sophisticated “sense and avoid” technology although the look and characteristics of the drones will continue to evolve over time.
San Francisco-based drone manufacturer and logistics company, Zipline had earlier launched a similar programme in Ghana and Rwanda for delivery of medical services.
According to LifeBank, the first drone flight was supported by the Ethiopian Government’s Information Network Security Agency (INSA) and The Drones Doing Good Alliance (DDG).
LifeBank will work closely with regulators and industry to design an air traffic management system that will recognise who is flying what drone, where they are flying, and whether they are adhering to operating requirements.
LifeBank was the biggest winner among 10 African startups that won a total of $1 million at the grand finale of first Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI) in Accra recently.
Other African countries and industries are set to follow as drone technology becomes popular in Africa. Drones can play a useful role in reaching remote areas in the African continent.
