On Wednesday (October 18) local time, Amazon Pharmacy, a subsidiary of the technology giant Amazon, announced on its official website that through drone delivery services, customers in college towns in Texas, USA, can get their ordered prescription drugs within one hour. The press release stated that the service currently covers more than 500 medicines for the treatment of common diseases, including influenza, asthma, pneumonia, etc. Eligible customers can choose "free drone delivery within 60 minutes" at checkout without paying additional fees.
Amazon also mentioned that customers can also access Amazon Clinic, Amazon’s 24/7 virtual medical online service. On this basis, coupled with rapid drug delivery, the treatment effect can be improved without customers leaving home.
Vin Gupta, chief medical officer of Amazon Pharmacy, wrote that there is an important "golden window" in clinical medicine, which is the time between when a patient becomes unwell and when he or she is able to receive treatment. Amazon is working to significantly close that gap, and drone delivery marks an important step forward.
VinGupta emphasized that early intervention is crucial to improve patient outcomes, whether it is an infectious disease or a respiratory disease. In recent years, Amazon has launched a fierce attack on the health care field. Services such as pharmacies and online clinics have demonstrated its investment and ambition in the medical field.
Amazon said its drones fly at an altitude of 40 to 120 meters and have built-in sensors and cameras that can help identify people, animals, wires and other objects. After arriving at the customer's home, the drone will slowly and safely lower to the customer's location and then return to the Amazon distribution center on its own after completing the delivery.
Amazon has been advancing drone delivery for years, but not very quickly. At the end of 2013, Amazon founder Bezos promised that Amazon would use drones to complete package delivery within half an hour in the future, and the trial operation service would be launched in about five years.
Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. During this period, Amazon has spent more than 2 billion US dollars on drone projects and established a global R&D team of more than 1,000 people. However, due to the strict regulations of the US FAA and other reasons, the use of drones in the last mile of door-to-door delivery is still a challenge.
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