Transport Canada has successfully completed its first long-distance, beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone flight in a trial that delivered an Epi-Pen and Narcan kit from a London Drugs in Duncan to a grocer and patient’s house on Salt Spring Island.
The Aug. 19 flight, which lasted 11 minutes and covered 6 km, shows that delivering medication over large bodies of water via drone is a feasible proposition in Canada.
The trial brought together Canada Post, InDro Robotics and London Drugs under the guidance of Transport Canada. The data gathered from the flight will be used as part of a wider set of BVLOS trials run by Transport Canada to figure out how it will regulate drone deliveries in cases where the operator cannot see the aircraft. Other simulated deliveries include flights over icy roads and rough terrain.
The promise to offer a quick delivery of medicine to remote communities across Canada has been talked about for years. But as technology has improved, along with both efficiency and safety, the feasibility of delivering beyond visual line of sight of the drone operator has increasingly become a reality.
“The ability to provide medications to patients in remote areas that would otherwise have to travel hours to obtain pharmacy service is significant in so many ways,” Chris Chiew, general manager of Pharmacy at London Drugs, said in a press release. “In the very near future, we will be able to provide delivery of prescription medications to an abundance of areas not accessible by vehicle.”
