A package is dropped from a Zipline fixed-wing drone as it goes through testing in Rwanda in this undated handout photo. Photo credit: Zipline
SALT LAKE CITY — Intermountain Healthcare is working on a plan to deliver prescriptions to homes using drones. The Deseret News reports deliveries could start as soon as this summer.
These deliveries would not use the quadcopter drones many people are familiar with. Instead, a company called Zipline would use its fixed-wing drones to fly over residential areas and drop packages using parachutes. They say these drones can deliver the packages to within an area the size of two parking spaces.
Zipline is already using drones to deliver blood products in Rwanda, and it’s also operating in Ghana. But it needs to complete a certification program with the Federal Aviation Administration to operate a delivery service in the United States.
The drones would operate out of Intermountain Healthcare’s new distribution center, which is currently under construction in South Jordan.