Why Bhutan Might Get Drone Delivery Copters Before Seattle Does

From Quartz comes the story of a Silicon Valley start-up trying to kickstart a delivery system using package-laden drones to overfly gridlocked traffic — in Bhutan. Bhutanese roads are slow, the weather can be brutal, and there are very few physicians to go around. That’s why, earlier this year, the Bhutanese government and the World Health Organization reached out to Matternet, a Palo Alto company backed by some big name American investors that develops transportation networks using unmanned aerial vehicles to reach hard-to-access places. ... The project in Bhutan, however, is the first big test for the startup. Matternet is aiming to build a network of low-cost quadcopters to connect the country’s main hospitals with rural communities. Matternet uses small quadcopters that can carry loads of about four pounds across 20 km at a time, to and from pre-designated landing stations. The company is able to track these flights in real-time, and aims to eventually deploy fully-automated landing stations that replace drone batteries, giving them extended range and flight time. The drones it uses typically cost between $2,000-5,000.

Comments

Can't hear the name Bhutan

[Anonymous Coward]

without thinking of Jim Carrey as Ace Ventura.

Re:People steal WIRE

[i kan reed]

Oh my fucking god, people are modding him up? You were serious. Ugh.

Let's explain then, because Jesus Christ this is stupid.

Poverty creates desperation. Some desperate people steal. The end. Being poor doesn't make you mentally inferior, morally questionable(in fact all objective evidence says the opposite is true), or deserving of blame.

What it does do is sometimes make you wonder where your next meal is coming from. And if you're enough of a liar to say that you wouldn't consider stealing some rich foreigners' drone charging station to eat, and that some people upon considering it might do it, I can't argue against you.