Tests in America and a world's first in Africa
UPS's drone delivery subsidiary UPS Flight Forward has partnered with research institutes and technology partners in Virginia in tests designed to determine how unmanned aerial systems can assist medical professionals in their fight to stop the spread of the Coronavirus.
Zipline, another US drone start-up which is also working with the FAA to accelerate the launch of US operations, has been commercially active in rural Ghana for exactly one year now. Since 17 April 2020, it has established the regular transport of Covid-19 test samples from rural test facilities to Accra, the nation's capital, and Kumasi, the country's second-largest city, marking the first time in history that autonomous drones have been used to make regular long-range deliveries into densely populated urban areas. (ah)