Trust Automation, known for standard and custom high efficiency motors and controls as well as support system solutions, has provided critical engineering support in the development of the recovery system for Zipline International’s medical delivery drones.
Trust Automation was instrumental in taking a concept provided by Zipline from drawing board design to operational reality.
The Zipline system flies lifesaving and critical medical supplies to remote and inaccessible areas. Zipline recently began official routine and national scale deliveries of blood to health facilities in Rwanda.
The Problem
More than two billion people lack adequate access to essential medical products, often due to challenging terrain and gaps in infrastructure.
Because of this, over 2.9 million children under age five die every year. And up to 150,000 pregnancy-related deaths could be avoided each year if mothers had reliable access to safe blood.
(More than two billion people lack adequate access to essential medical products, often due to challenging terrain and gaps in infrastructure. Courtesy of Zipline and YouTube)
Meet Zip
Zip is a small robot airplane designed for a high level of safety, using many of the same approaches as commercial airliners. It can carry vaccines, medicine, or blood.
A fleet of Zips is able to provide for a population of millions. No roads, no problem.
How it Works
A health worker can place an order by text message. Within minutes, a Zip is prepared and launched into the sky.
Racing along at 100 km/h, Zip arrives faster than any other mode of transport, no pilot required. The medical products are then dropped off, landing gently and accurately at the health facility in an open area the size of a few parking spaces.
One delivery, one life saved. It’s that simple.
“Trust Automation contributed to the Zipline drone technology by creating a small footprint capture/recovery solution required to make this program operable in locations where runways are not practical,” said Ty Safreno, CEO and CTO of Trust Automation.
“In the technological world we live in today it is unacceptable to know that lives are lost because communities have zero access to critical medical supplies.”
“Being part of a project that saves thousands of lives on a global scale is an honor and driving inspiration for us.”
“We thank Trust Automation for their contributions to the success of Zipline’s lifesaving medical supply deliveries,” said Keenan Wyrobek, CTO of Zipline International.
Zipline makes it possible and affordable for drones to make lifesaving deliveries, transforming the way we provide medical care across the world.
Trust Automation operates on a foundation of exceeding its customers’ expectations in automation systems, developing standard and custom motion and motor control solutions for the defense, semiconductor, industrial automation, green tech, and medical industries.
Trust Automation is an ISO 9001:2008 certified Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) with over 25 years of experience in; custom military rated (MIL SPEC) actuators, actuation systems, custom motors, controllers, motor drives and machine systems, with ongoing success with DARPA, IARPA, and DoD contracts
Its product line includes; linear and digital drives, high performance servo motors, standalone motion controllers, custom assemblies and products, engineering services, and custom battery management systems to fit unique applications and ground-up system design and manufacturing solutions.
