Two hospitals in France deploy drones for delivery of medical products. The autonomous planes allow healthcare professionals to control the delivery times of medical products themselves.
IT partner Atos signed a partnership with Paris public hospital Hôpitaux de Paris and Nantes teaching hospital. The company is working on a project to deploy drones for the so-called 'Hospital of the Future'.
Choosing the most efficient means of transport
Atos is developing a software platform for the hospitals to optimise and automate the delivery of medical products between different locations. Users can choose the most efficient means of transport themselves. This could be a drone, but also automated water or road transport. The choice is determined by several factors, such as weather conditions, traffic density, vehicle availability and urgency of deliveries.
Drone approved by French regulator
To deploy drones, Atos uses technology from Azur Drones, manufacturer of autonomous drones. The French company has developed an autonomous surveillance drone capable of operating 24/7 without remote control, controlled by its docking station. This SKEYETECH drone is currently the only automated drone approved by the Civil Aviation Supervisory Authority in France.
Saving costs and time
"Our approach allows us to respond to the needs of patients, receiving products on time," said Steve Péguet, Innovation Director at Atos France. "It also frees up a lot of extra time, allowing medical staff to devote more attention to patients. Moreover, this project allows us to make significant cost savings and solve logistical problems resulting from the ever-increasing traffic in major cities."
A pilot with test flights is planned soon.
