“Drone Ports” will soon be allowed in hospitals for quick transportation of organs
- Published | 04 December 2018
Drone ports will soon be available in big hospitals for the speedy transportation of organs which will help the healthcare industry grow.
India: Drones might very soon become available to beat notorious traffic of Indian cities and make sure speedy transportation of organs among hospitals, a possibility without having to create green corridors or special road routes. Jayant Sinha, Union minister of state for aviation said “the authorities concerned, who will begin registration of big drones (non-toys) from December 1, are looking at creating “drone ports” in hospitals.” This will help in faster transportation of organs for patients in need and also help the industry grow.
Sinha said, “We will begin registration from December 1 and then the required licenses will be issued from a month later to accord drones a legal status in India. We are working on the next step of our recently announced drone policy where we are looking at allowing flying drones beyond the line of sight (enabling operators to fly drones without having them in sight) in certain areas. Drone ports in hospitals can allow quick transportation of harvested organs to recipients under the Drone 2.0 policy or the next generation of our policy that was recently announced. The draft civil aviation requirement for the same will be issued for consultation on January 15, at a global aviation summit India is hosting in Mumbai.” Special digital airspace will be provided for the usage of drones. In the next phase, big changes are probably going to take place in the drone policy by permitting one pilot to function multiple drones to deliver things in various areas. A white paper will also be issued regarding this shortly.
According to BlueWeave Consulting, recently India got the first set of rules regarding the legal usage of drones. For operating a big drone (over 2 kg in weight) getting a licence will cost INR 25,000 and extending the same will cost around INR 10,000. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued rules to operate remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) like drones, which have been considered into five categories namely nano (which weighs up to 250 grams), micro (which is from 250 grams to 2 kg) and then small, medium and large drones that are in the weight range of 2-25 kg; 25-150 kg and above 150 kg, respectively. Someone flying a drone which weighs over 2 kg will need formal training for it from any DGCA-approved flying training organisation. Apart from people flying nano drones, which are generally used as toys and security agencies owning RPAS, all other Indian nationals using the other categories of drones will first need to get a unique identification number (UIN). Advanced machine learning algorithm and Integration of AI in designing and production of UAVs is a major factor that is driving the commercial drone market growth. This venture will help the hospitals in having a quicker transportation of organs and help the healthcare industry grow as well.
According to the upcoming report by BlueWeave Consulting on, “Global Commercial Drone Market by Type (Fixed wing drones, Rotary bade drones, Hybrid drones segment), Application (Agriculture and Environment, Media and Entertainment, Energy, Government, Construction & Archaeology) Size and Forecast by 2018- 2026", the market is growing significantly with a healthy CAGR. Advanced machine learning algorithm and Integration of AI in designing and manufacturing UAVs is a major factor that is driving the consumer drone market growth. The growing demand from consumers compels manufacturers to endlessly focus on technical improvements in the drone equipment. For example, the amalgamation of collision detection technology and geofencing technology into the UAVs advances their security features making the technology more convenient for operators flying UAVs for recreational as well as non-recreational purposes. Moreover, the growing awareness and availability along with the support and initiatives by the government are projected to augment the consumer drone market growth.