CHANDLER, Ariz. — The Chandler City Council has authorized a pilot project that will examine how drones could be used to deliver critical medical supplies.
On Thursday, the city council approved an agreement that will permit Airspace Link to test out transporting medical supplies between a pharmaceutical distributor and an assisted-living facility in west Chandler.
Airspace Link is expected to conduct multiple drone flights along a 1.2-mile route over a predominantly non-residential area. The pilot program is projected to start this summer and would be limited to seven total days of operations, city records show.
Data collected from the project will be used to analyze whether drones are a more efficient option for regularly delivering medical supplies.
"This project will create a foundation required for developing and implementing a business-to-business and business-to-consumer infrastructure network to support advanced (drone) operations, leading to a reduction in traffic, congestion, CO2 emissions, and other benefits," city records state.
The project is expected to be funded by the Maricopa Association of Governments.
Over the last few years, companies and government agencies have been testing out how drones could be used to optimize their services.
Walmart announced last year it would use drones to deliver customer orders in certain areas. The Phoenix Fire Department has begun using drones in its search and rescue operations.
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