When the heroine of the Hunger Games was airdropped in times of crisis, people were surprised: is there still this kind of divine operation? They thought it would only appear in science fiction. In fact, drone startup Zipline has brought this scenario to reality: in Rwanda, if doctors need emergency blood supplies, Zipling drones can carry life-saving blood and rush to the rescue site.

The medical field shines brilliantly.

Keller Riodor, co-founder and CEO of Zipline, said in an interview that Zipline currently plays an important role in the blood supply in Rwanda. Because the traditional blood supply chain takes a long time,The drone's speed ten times faster than a car gives it an advantage.

It is reported that Zipline's drone fleet has flown more than 300000 kilometers in Rwanda and transported more than 7, 000 units of blood in more than 5, 000 flights.

The mechanism of Zipline blood transport is also very easy to understand. If a doctor and his patient in Rwanda need blood supplies, he only needs to send a message to Zipline headquarters through the app, and the blood bag of the target blood type will be packed in a small box with a landing device to carry the drone to the destination. The whole process takes only 30 minutes, and although the company did not disclose specific rates, they hintedThe cost of drone transport is similar to that of car transport.

The company says the service already covers more than 100000 of the country's population and will continue to expand in the future.

CEO Leonardo said, "although the company is the only company to do this, we are learning quickly and the services provided by the company are constantly improving." he also pointed out some problems, "when the weather is good. It's naturally easy to run, but if the company wants to achieve fully automated distribution nationwide and build an all-weather system that people can trust. There are still difficulties one by one.

Industry leader

The drone market is an emerging market in the technology industry in recent years. Apart from Zipline, Internet giants Amazon.Com Inc and Alphabet Inc-CL C all have their own drone programs, but analysts believe that Zipline's drone products are second to none in the industry.

This is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

First of all, Zipline has unparalleled experience advantages.As mentioned earlier, because Zipline has conducted numerous experiments and practical operations in Rwanda, the company has accumulated a lot of experience in the manufacture and operation of drones. Michael, a professional drone industry analyst at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said, "the key competitive advantage of Zipline lies in the company's actual operational experience in package delivery, at this level, whether the package is blood or iPhone and other products is no longer important." "Meanwhile, Michael expects the current market valuation of drones to reach $127 billion.

Secondly, Zipline has advantages in the number of drones and navigation.Michael believes that Zipline currently has far more drones and actual flights than giants such as Alphabet Inc-CL C and Amazon.Com Inc. Moreover, Zipline is expected to expand its fleet of 50 drones to 500. In addition to the current base in western Rwanda, a new base will be built. In addition, the company also launched the "fastest commercial UAV in history", with a top speed of 128 kilometers. Analysts point out that these efforts will further expand the advantages of Zipline.

Thirdly, Zipline is brave to innovate.Since its establishment five years ago, in addition to the UAV ontology, the company has also accumulated a lot of experience on the UAV console control software in the process of development, which can be described as all-round development. A few days ago, the company also upgraded its drone technology to make it possible to carry heavier cargo. Later this year, the company will expand into other countries.

Finally, the biggest advantage of Zipline may be the logistics experience accumulated in the process of development.It is reported that Zipline acts as a bridge between the blood bank, the medical system and the clinic. Leonardo said that it is easy to build a drone, but it is difficult to operate normally and efficiently day and night, so the focus of the company's future development is to optimize its logistics system.

How can you kill a chicken with a cow knife?

Zipline's main business is to transfer blood to hospitals in Rwanda, but the company's plans have begun to focus on other medical items, such as vaccines, drugs and other medical supplies.

CEO Leonardo says that just as the Internet has changed the way people access information, robots should make logistics more timely and automated. He believes that what Zipline is doing can benefit those who are currently unable to access e-commerce because of poor conditions, such as those in remote rural areas.

So far, the company has received more than 114 million US dollars from investors such as Sequoia Capital, and the company's current market valuation is more than 500 million US dollars.

With the continuous development of Zipline, and industry giants such as Amazon.Com Inc also began to improve the user shopping experience through drones, Zipline executives saidThe company may develop partnerships around the world in the future.Leonardo revealed that Zipline may eventually move from rural health care to Internet sales or freight transportation, but this is not the company's ultimate goal.

Currently, Zipline is responsible for medium-and long-term transport services in Rwanda, which can be delivered as far away as oil rigs and construction sites. In fact, rival Matternet drones are currently in the blood transport business. Analysts point out that the healthcare industry has a lot of room for profit, and if Zipline can reduce costs and improve its services, then the company can grow by leaps and bounds.

Open up the American market

Zipline chose Rwanda for the same reason that Amazon.Com Inc chose the UK and Alphabet Inc-CL C chose Australia because the governments of these regions have a higher tolerance for the commercialization of drones than the United States.

It is worth mentioning that earlier this month, the Federal Aviation Administration approved the first-ever drone flight test program in the United States. More importantly, the United States allows drones to fly beyond the operator's line of sight, which is extremely important for the development of the commercial operation model of drones.

Zipline has become an absolute star in a nationwide tender launched by the Trump administration. In contrast, Amazon.Com Inc submitted a proposal but was rejected; Alphabet Inc-CL C was allowed to conduct his own flight test in Virginia; and another drone company nominated for the CNBC award, Flirtey, was also allowed to conduct defibrillator delivery services in Nevada. Zipline is allowed to run its own medical supply system in North Carolina.

Analysts believe that Zipline, Flirtey and Matternet are actually the "Big three" that are really driving the development of the drone business model, and they are able to get the "regulatory authority" that is crucial to them precisely because they are doing life-saving medical services.

Analysts also point to mergers in the drone market, and analyst Snow believes that "drone companies will not go extinct like most tech start-ups, because tech giants tend to merge them." "in fact, they think that the logistics industry is an industry with low barriers to entry, but it is also very difficult to make money, and it is very important for enterprises to maintain an efficient operation and sustainable development model.

Analyst Snow believes that Zipline is not suitable for online retail companies like Amazon.Com Inc. Instead, he thinks Zipline is more likely to be acquired by the larger giants of the drone industry, but they should be targeted for Zipline's medical service experience rather than its drone technology.

For Zipline itself, the company's vertically integrated model (a way to increase or reduce a company's control over the distribution of its input and output, that is, its control over the distribution of its production inputs, products or services) makes it more risk-proof than the startups speculated by venture capital. At the same time, the company's accumulated expertise in the field of logistics will also make the company shine in the eyes of other companies that want to acquire.

(this article is produced by Futu Information compilation team, compiled / Guanjie, proofread / Huang Ruixue)