CA-based drone delivery experts Matternet have introduced a new station.  The station is a significant move forward in automating the process of drone delivery between medical campuses, where Matternet has already led the way in the U.S..  The Matternet solution is currently deployed in Wake Forest NC through a partnership with UPS, and in Switzerland through a partnership with Swiss Post.

The new station is an “aviation grade asset,” says Matternet, as the company works with the FAA to have their automated drone solution type-certified.  It’s also a stunning piece of industrial design – a gorgeous example of equally impressive form and function.

 

The following is a Matternet press release.

Matternet Unveils the New Matternet Station

Station provides safe, fully-automated medical payload exchange for Matternet drone networks on hospital campuses

Mountain View, CA — March 10, 2020 — Matternet, developer of the world’s leading urban drone logistics platform, today unveiled the new Matternet Station. The Matternet Station  supports the company’s vision of distributed, peer-to-peer drone logistics networks for urban environments. It’s integrated with Matternet’s autonomous M2 Drone and Cloud Platform, providing an intuitive user interface for sending and receiving medical payloads, and a safe and secure drone portal for hospital campuses. Stations will initially service healthcare systems in Switzerland and the US.

With the new Station, Matternet is moving further into the future of autonomous aerial systems,
giving hospitals and their supply partners the ability to integrate automated drone delivery into
their laboratory and pharmacy operations. The company has been operating in healthcare
systems around the world since 2017, replacing slow and expensive on-demand courier
services. Hospitals can now move blood diagnostics, pathology specimens and medicine
between their facilities and suppliers with secure, extremely fast and predictable aerial delivery.
“Our vision is to connect every healthcare facility in every metropolitan area with the fastest
transportation method available today,” said Andreas Raptopoulos, CEO of Matternet. “We are
building the technology platform for extremely fast, point-to-point, urban medical delivery,
enabling hospital systems to shrink patient waiting times and save millions of dollars per year
through the centralization of laboratories and medical inventory. The Matternet Station is a very
important part of the ecosystem for making this vision a reality.

Matternet, which is currently working with the FAA to Type Certify its Matternet M2 Drone and
Cloud Platform, designed the new Station as an aviation-grade asset. The Station is connected
to the Matternet Cloud Platform and gives flight directors, sitting in a remote Matternet-enabled
mission control center, the ability to monitor operations including inspecting vehicles and
checking airspace before takeoff. Each Station comes with its own automated aerial
deconfliction system that manages drone traffic over the Station.

The Matternet Station, a beautifully designed architectural structure, occupies a small footprint
and can be installed at ground or rooftop locations. At around 10 feet (3 meters) tall, it keeps
the vehicles high enough off the ground to not compromise safety if installed in a public area.
The Station is equipped with technology that guides the Matternet M2 Drone to precision
landing on the Station’s platform. After landing, the Station locks the drone in place and
automatically swaps its battery and payload. When the drone is not in use, it’s parked in a
hangar on top of the Station.