Post office uses drones to connect hospitals
After initial tests in Lugano, Swiss Post will now also fly the skies over the Swiss capital, Bern. Delivery drones will transport laboratory samples between two local hospitals.
In a statement published on TuesdayExternal link, the Swiss Post said the drones would be tested over a period of two weeks. They will carry lab samples between the university hospital (also known as Inselspital) and the Tiefenau hospital in Bern. The samples are currently delivered by courier or by taxi in urgent cases.
After the test phase, the Insel hospital group will decide if this new mode of transport will be adopted. Swiss Post plans to use similar delivery methods in Switzerland’s biggest city, Zurich.
It notes that using drones in the medical field has unique benefits, especially for delivering packages to locations which have been shut off by bad weather or are in a war zone.
Swiss Post is also testing other alternative and autonomous transport systems, such as shuttle buses.
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