Raining Blood? Drone-Flown Vital Fluid Network Proposed for Palo Alto

Drones Drones & Vehicles

Mike Senese is a content producer with a focus on technology, science, and engineering. He served as Executive Editor of Make: magazine for nearly a decade, and previously was a senior editor at Wired. Mike has also starred in engineering and science shows for Discovery Channel, including Punkin Chunkin, How Stuff Works, and Catch It Keep It.

An avid maker, Mike spends his spare time tinkering with electronics, fixing cars, and attempting to cook the perfect pizza. You might spot him at his local skatepark in the SF Bay Area.

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April 25th, 2018

Palo Alto, Calif. aims to be the first US city where drones fly emergency deliveries from a blood bank to a nearby hospital. The network would use secure lockboxes that can be opened by QR codes on smartphones. Similar endeavors are already underway in Switzerland, operated by Matternet, the same Silicon Valley company that is hoping to set up in California.

While some locals are concerned about being near the flight path of the blood-toting drones, others are citing the benefits of the program, which is said to be able to cut delivery times down from 60 minutes in traffic to just 10 minutes via air.