Originally published at: London welcomes expeditious Blood Drones - Boing Boing
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This seems like a tragically underexplored capability.
Project Culicidae is the real future of expeditious blood drones. With today’s advanced data brokerage and pervasive location tracking services you should be able to just tell the drone what sort of blood you need and let Big Data and the autophlebotomy module do the rest!
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I’m a little confused about the issue these drones are addressing given that they’re “samples,” not units of blood being delivered for transfusions. Per one of the linked articles:
What kind of test are they running, exactly? Is this kind of testing something that can’t be done at a local lab on the grounds of the hospital?
Edit to add:
So a quick check of Google Maps shows that this is about 1.7 miles on the road via car or bike courier, or about 1 mile as the crow flies. I guess that a drone can do the job (weather permitting) but I’d bet that someone on an e-bike would probably end up being a lot cheaper and nearly as fast.
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You’d think Peter Thiel would have already built a multi-million-dollar business in this niche based on his personal needs alone.
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How does that make Google rich?
Okay then, who gets rich if you do it the normal way?
Don’t you understand how reform of public services works? Certain people aren’t getting rich from this, that needs reforming.
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Maybe I’m underestimating the importance of free-range to the discerning blood consumer; but Thiel always struck me as more of a ‘clandestine bunker full of blood thralls raised in veal calf conditions’ kind of guy, rather than someone who would sully his ubermench circulatory system with blood from the unwashed rabble.
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Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals are run by the same NHS trust, so I imagine that laboratory facilities have been pruned and some tests can only be done at one site.
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London never should have gotten rid of its pneumatic tubes.
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Drones? Pneumatic tubes? No, my friend.
The future is in fully organic delivery systems with complex sensor technology (visual, auditory, and geopositioning capabilities) built out of completely biodegradable materials, which need no aviation approval, are self-piloting, and run on fuel that can be found in any common public trashcan.
I’m speaking, of course, of homing pigeons.
Now where’s my $10 million contract?
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There was an episode of Midsomer Murders which revolved around a medical drone test programme. In that case, the drones were being used to deliver drugs from the chemist to remote, housebound villagers. So this is a case of life imitating art!
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More bloody drones!
Ugh.
(That is all.)
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I mean, it’ll go wrong and cost a bastard fortune anyway, but if GSTT are doing it, extra hilarity will ensue, mark my words.
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Expeditious Blood Drones
Band Name!
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So, automated aerial door dash for London Vampires?
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It still costs less than Waitrose.
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Zipline has already been doing this. This fairly long video explains their current operation serving hospitals in Rwanda and what they think they could be doing soon. Also, what they did to help with noise reduction is pretty slick. Amazing Invention- This Drone Will Change Everything (youtube.com)
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‘Blood drones’ sounds like something dreamt up by Peter Thiel.
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I think you owe @gracchus and @fuzzyfungus carbonated beverages!
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