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R Rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills, and our car seems to go over every one of them as we drive from the small town of Muhanga to the even smaller town of Kinazi. The 50-kilometer I trip into western Rwanda will take us well over an hour. We're on our way to rendezvous with a blood-carrying drone that will make the trip in under 14 minutes. The drone is operated by Zipline, a California-based company focused on delivering medical supplies in areas with poor infrastructure. And not long after we arrive at Kinazi's hospital, the fixed-wing drone materializes out of the blue. In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, the drone descends, opens a set of doors in its belly, and drops a small package that parachutes to the ground. The drone immediately begins to climb and vanishes over the hills as a staff member crosses the hospital parking lot to pick up the package-a shipment of blood ordered by WhatsApp less than half an hour earlier. We then climb back into our car to start our bone-jarring return drive to Muhanga, one of Zipline's launch sites, winding our way over dirt roads. By the time we make it back, the drone is flying smoothly toward another hospital elsewhere in Rwanda, with a fresh package of blood in its belly.
Ackerman et al. (Tue,) studied this question.