KDDI pushes on with drone-based medical deliveries

The Japanese operator is part of a group that has successfully delivered pharmaceuticals in a densely-populated area using remotely-operated, semi-autonomous drones over a distance of almost 2.5 kilometres. According to KDDI, this was not about technical feasibility, but rather a late-stage demonstration to verify whether the service can be operated safely in an urban environment, and is actually more effective than traditional delivery methods.

"We created a process for the drone delivery workflow, from ordering a pharmaceutical delivery to receiving the package; refined it through role-playing; and established a system for implementation," said KDDI.

The group will now push on with commercial implementation. There are also further tests to be done, to ensure its equipment complies with various rules and regulations governing urban drone flight.

This merry band of aerial medicine dispensers includes KDDI's Smart Drone unit, which has developed a cellular comms platform that can operate drones at flight level 4 – that is to say, autonomous, beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights over populated areas, including urban areas.

Japan Airlines (JAL) is also involved, and has several responsibilities. It is in charge of business planning, evaluation and verification. It also provides crew resource management (CRM) training, and models risks and comes up with effective countermeasures to them.

Medical supply chain specialist Mediceo is responsible for the development and implementation of pharmaceutical delivery procedures, while another partner, Weathernews, provides weather data. To sell the idea to residents, it is being promoted by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) – presumably via display advertising on its train services.

The whole project is coordinated by KDDI.

The demonstration itself saw logistics drones deliver delicate ampoules of rare medicines from a clinic in Hihara Village in an outlying district of Tokyo called Nishitama, to a nearby nursing home. The route by road is nearly 4 kilometres long and skirts round the side of a large area of hills, whereas flying a drone shaves off more than a kilometre from the journey.

Furthermore, KDDI says rare medicines are usually stockpiled at individual hospitals, but they have a limited shelf life, which means wastage is a problem. By using drones, rare medicines can be distributed quickly from a centralised location, reducing the need for stockpiling, cutting down on waste and improving profitability.

"Through this demonstration, the verification of drone delivery of rare medicines while ensuring a high level of safety has been completed, and the feasibility of a business model of drone-based medicine delivery in urban areas has been increased," KDDI said.

KDDI has been working up to this moment since 2021, which underscores just how carefully the industry has to tread when it wants to fly drones out in public.

In addition to various demonstration flights, it has also been touring schools, holding classes to raise awareness and understanding among local residents.

It has taken a long time to get to this point, but drones are finally capable of more than aerial photography and racing.

Recent highlights from the UK include an announcement from the National Health Service (NHS), which earlier this month began using drones to transport urgent blood samples to speed up testing turnaround times. It's a six-month trial that could lay the groundwork for more widespread use of drones in healthcare.

Also, at the end of this year, Amazon is due to extend its Prime Air delivery service to the UK and Italy. Provided it weighs no more than 2.2 kilograms, eligible customers will be able to receive their package in one hour or less.

Slowly but surely, drone delivery services are taking flight.