African drone-based medical delivery transformation sought by Montreal firm
Shearwater Aerospace, a leading provider of advanced drone technology, has partnered with AerialMetric, Madagascar's leading medical drone delivery operator, to optimise drone delivery routes in the African country. This collaboration aims to enhance scalability and access to life-saving medicines for over 1,000 remote health facilities throughout Madagascar.
AerialMetric's operations take place in challenging conditions, including winds of nearly 50 km/h, heavy rain, extreme heat, and mountainous terrain. The partnership between Shearwater Aerospace and AerialMetric integrates AI-powered flight planning and dynamic risk mitigation specifically designed for challenging beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) conditions.
This technology addresses key operational challenges such as variability in energy consumption of flights by up to 30% due to weather conditions. By automating route planning, the partnership reduces manual effort and improves the predictability and safety of long-range flights often exceeding 200 kilometers. The collaboration also enables reliable, consistent drone missions that would otherwise be prone to grounding or failure due to these factors.
Since 2020, AerialMetric has performed over 10,000 flights, delivering over 10 tons of medical supplies to over 1,000 health facilities. In 2024, AerialMetric performed nearly 3,000 long-distance missions, many exceeding 200 kilometers. Shearwater's system checks in real-time that weather conditions and the drone respect mission parameters and regulatory limits during flight. The system also constantly monitors weather evolution and energy consumption of the device.
The partnership between Shearwater Aerospace and AerialMetric will support AerialMetric's planned expansion in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The collaboration aims to integrate real-time meteorological analysis and energy predictions into AerialMetric's flight planning, further enhancing the efficiency and reliability of their drone delivery system.
Madagascar, one of the poorest countries on the African continent with limited transport infrastructure, stands to benefit significantly from this partnership. The collaboration aims to expand access to medicines and vaccinations in isolated Madagascar communities.
The partnership also lays the foundation for a more reliable, efficient drone delivery system overcoming Madagascar’s challenging weather and terrain. The collaboration between AerialMetric and Shearwater Aerospace could serve as a replicable model of medical drone logistics for governments, NGOs, and development partners in developing countries.
Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions continue to play out elsewhere, with Russia increasing its number of drones over the past two months, forcing Kiev to constantly adapt. In a separate development, a sexual assault trial involving five former hockey players is ongoing, with one of them testifying on Wednesday.
The partnership between Shearwater Aerospace and AerialMetric will not only enhance the efficiency and reliability of drone delivery for life-saving medicines in Madagascar but also, aim to integrate real-time meteorological analysis and energy predictions into their flight planning for expanded access in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This collaboration in the health-and-wellness sector, spearheaded by advanced drone technology from Shearwater Aerospace and science-backed operations by AerialMetric, ultimately strives for justice by improving access to essential medical supplies in remote communities.
