A Johns Hopkins professor was involved in the first-ever ship-to-shore drone delivery

Retailers like Amazon want to use drone delivery so you don’t have to leave your house to grab something you want. But a Nevada startup and a Johns Hopkins School of Medicine professor are demonstrating that UAVs can also be used to deliver what people need.
Last week, Reno-based Flirtey and Dr. Timothy Amukele partnered on what’s being called the first successful ship-to-shore drone delivery. The payload that landed in Camp May was filled with medical supplies.

Beyond racking up the milestone, the test allowed the team to see how the ride from the unmanned craft would affect the samples being delivered. Amukele’s research is focused on increasing access to medical care in sub-Saharan Africa, but they’re working on perfecting delivery first, as he told the Guardian:

“For example, if blood is being carried on the back of motorcycle, shaking caused by the bike and its vibrations can ruin the sample,” said Amukele. “We want to see what tasks the drones can perform and if the drones have similar effects onsamples [sic] they carry.”

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Amukele also worked with Flirtey to complete a similar delivery on land last summer.