Summary
In Season 1 Ep.6 of Dr. Pawd, host Peter interviews Keenan Wyrobek, the founder and CTO of Zipline, a drone service that delivers life-saving medicines. The discussion covers the fascinating story of Zipline's inception, evolution, and current initiatives.
Keenan’s passion for problem-solving and doing things that matter helped him get through school and graduate school. The idea for Zipline came from their family members who suggested looking into the logistics of international vaccine campaigns and efforts to eradicate diseases. Keenan and his co-founder spent time in Central America and Africa to understand the problem they were trying to solve. Their passion for providing access to medical supplies led to the creation of Zipline- a company whose focus is on access to medical supplies, and technology is only a means to deliver it.
Zipline had a simple start, after finding customers who really wanted their service and guiding them through the process. They began by providing on-demand fulfillment and delivery of medical supplies, starting with blood. Zipline's first solution was a drone delivery system that centralized blood storage and flew long-range trips for delivery. Their drones resemble small airplanes with a wingspan of about 10 feet and a red and white body. They are launched from a catapult, fly a very long-range, deliver a package, and return to land automatically using a system that resembles an upside-down aircraft carrier.
Zipline’s drones are designed to avoid hard landings to increase reliability, reduce costs, and eliminate challenges brought by storms. The landing system is tall to enable Zipline to set up distribution centers next to buildings wherever it makes sense. Today, Zipline's drones have done well over 100,000 deliveries, including millions of vaccines for COVID-19.
Zipline is making a significant impact in Africa, where they have started delivering COVID vaccines directly to health clinics, making it easier and more flexible for delivery and storage. The delivery system in Ghana can store the vaccines in a normal fridge for a week, reducing the need for thousands of freezers. They work closely with the governments and regulators of each country they operate in and build relationships with stakeholders at all levels. They train and certify their operators through the Zipline Academy in Rwanda, even those in the US.
Zipline is using AI and deep learning techniques to improve the safety and delivery experience for their drones. They have submitted their first AI-based functionality to the FAA for aircraft detection which would be used to head off reliability challenges. Zipline is primarily focused on the healthcare industry and aims to deliver medication and supplies through drones directly to homes in the US. The broader drone landscape is moving towards autonomy and offering more sophisticated capabilities such as high-resolution imagery of the roof of a house or identifying faults in power lines.
Apart from healthcare, Zipline is also optimistic about the possibility of a future where drones are used as flying cars to commute. Keenan believes that drone delivery to homes in the US is going to start this year, and in more remote locations, it will take up to 3-4 years for the technology to be practical. He thinks flying cars have a longer road to hoe, but if it takes 20 years, he would be surprised; he believes it's more like a 10-year time frame.
In conclusion, Keenan’s passion for developing a solution to provide access to medical supplies led to the creation of Zipline, which is now making a significant impact in Africa and the US. The use of AI and deep learning techniques is improving the safety and delivery experience for their drones, and they have already submitted their first AI-based functionality to the FAA for aircraft detection. Keenan believes that Zipline will also expand into delivering medication and supplies through drones directly to homes in the US.
