How we're using drones to deliver blood and save lives
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0:01 - 0:04Most people think
-
0:05 - 0:09that new technology or advanced technology
can never start in Africa. -
0:10 - 0:14Instead, they think that the best way
to help the continent advance -
0:14 - 0:16is by providing aid or services
-
0:16 - 0:19that the continent
can't provide for itself. -
0:20 - 0:23So while we see advanced
technology like robotics -
0:23 - 0:25and artificial intelligence
-
0:25 - 0:27growing exponentially
in the developed world, -
0:27 - 0:29those same people are worried
-
0:29 - 0:32that a technologically backward
Africa is falling behind. -
0:33 - 0:36That attitude couldn't be more wrong.
-
0:38 - 0:41I'm a robotics entrepreneur
who's spent a lot of time here in Africa. -
0:41 - 0:46And in 2014 we created Zipline,
-
0:46 - 0:50which is a company that uses
electric autonomous aircraft -
0:50 - 0:54to deliver medicine to hospitals
and health centers on demand. -
0:54 - 0:58Last year, we launched the world's first
automated delivery system -
0:58 - 0:59operating at national scale.
-
1:00 - 1:01And guess what?
-
1:02 - 1:04We did not do that in the US,
-
1:05 - 1:06we didn't do it in Japan,
-
1:06 - 1:08and we didn't do it in Europe.
-
1:08 - 1:11It was actually President Paul Kagame
-
1:11 - 1:14and the Rwandan Ministry of Health
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1:14 - 1:17that made a big bet
on the potential of this technology -
1:17 - 1:19and signed a commercial contract
-
1:19 - 1:23to deliver a majority
of the country's blood on demand. -
1:24 - 1:26(Applause)
-
1:29 - 1:31Yeah, they deserve the applause.
-
1:33 - 1:35So why is blood important?
-
1:35 - 1:38Rwanda collects between 60- and 80,000
units of blood a year. -
1:38 - 1:40So this is a product
that when you need it, -
1:41 - 1:42you really, really need it.
-
1:43 - 1:45But blood is also challenging,
-
1:45 - 1:48because it has a very short shelf life,
-
1:48 - 1:50there are lots of different
storage requirements, -
1:50 - 1:53and it's really hard to predict the demand
-
1:53 - 1:55for all of these different blood groups
-
1:55 - 1:57before a patient actually needs something.
-
1:57 - 2:00But the cool thing is
that using this technology, -
2:00 - 2:04Rwanda has been able to keep
more blood centralized -
2:04 - 2:06and then provide it
when a patient needs something -
2:06 - 2:11to any hospital or health center
in an average of just 20 or 30 minutes. -
2:11 - 2:13Do you guys want to see how it works?
-
2:13 - 2:14(Audience) Yes.
-
2:14 - 2:17All right. Nobody believes me,
so ... better to show. -
2:17 - 2:19This is our distribution center,
-
2:19 - 2:22which is about 20 kilometers
outside of Kigali. -
2:22 - 2:25This actually used to be a cornfield
nine months ago, -
2:25 - 2:27and with the Rwandan government,
-
2:27 - 2:30we leveled it and built this center
in a couple weeks. -
2:30 - 2:32So when a patient is having an emergency,
-
2:32 - 2:35a doctor or a nurse at that hospital
can send us a WhatsApp, -
2:35 - 2:37telling us what they need.
-
2:37 - 2:40And then our team will immediately
spring into action. -
2:40 - 2:41We pull the blood from our stock,
-
2:41 - 2:45which is delivered from the National
Center for Blood Transfusion; -
2:45 - 2:47we scan the blood into our system
-
2:47 - 2:50so the Ministry of Health
knows where the blood is going; -
2:50 - 2:52and then we'll basically
pack it into a Zip, -
2:52 - 2:55which is what we call
these little autonomous airplanes -
2:55 - 2:56that run on batteries.
-
2:56 - 2:58And then once that Zip is ready to go,
-
2:58 - 3:01we accelerate it from zero
to 100 kilometers an hour -
3:01 - 3:03in about half of a second.
-
3:07 - 3:08(Audience) Whoa!
-
3:08 - 3:11And from the moment it leaves
the end of the launcher, -
3:11 - 3:12it's completely autonomous.
-
3:12 - 3:15(Video: Air traffic controller
directs traffic) -
3:15 - 3:17This is our air traffic
controller calling it in -
3:17 - 3:19to Kigali International Airport.
-
3:19 - 3:21And when the Zip arrives at the hospital,
-
3:21 - 3:24it descends to about 30 feet
and drops the package. -
3:24 - 3:27We use a really simple paper parachute --
simple things are best -- -
3:27 - 3:31that allows the package to come
to the ground gently and reliably -
3:31 - 3:32in the same place every time.
-
3:32 - 3:35So it's just like ride sharing;
-
3:35 - 3:38the doctors get a text message
one minute before we arrive, saying, -
3:38 - 3:40"Walk outside and receive your delivery."
-
3:40 - 3:41(Laughter)
-
3:41 - 3:43And then --
-
3:43 - 3:47(Applause)
-
3:50 - 3:54and then the doctors have what they need
to save a patient's life. -
3:54 - 3:57This is actually watching a delivery
happen from our distribution center; -
3:57 - 4:00this vehicle is about 50 kilometers away.
-
4:00 - 4:04We're able to watch the vehicle
as it makes a delivery at a hospital -
4:04 - 4:05in real time.
-
4:05 - 4:08You may have noticed there are pings
-
4:08 - 4:10that are coming off
of that vehicle on the screen. -
4:10 - 4:12Those pings are actually data packets
-
4:12 - 4:14that we're getting
over the cell phone networks. -
4:14 - 4:17So these planes have SIM cards
just like your cell phone does, -
4:17 - 4:20and they're communicating
over the cell network -
4:20 - 4:23to tell us where they are
and how they're doing at all times. -
4:23 - 4:25Believe it or not,
we actually buy family plans -- -
4:25 - 4:26(Laughter)
-
4:26 - 4:27for this fleet of vehicles,
-
4:27 - 4:29because that's how we get the best rates.
-
4:30 - 4:31(Laughter)
-
4:31 - 4:32It's actually not a joke.
-
4:32 - 4:34(Laughter)
-
4:36 - 4:39So today, we're delivering
about 20 percent -
4:39 - 4:41of the national blood supply of Rwanda
-
4:41 - 4:43outside of Kigali.
-
4:43 - 4:45We serve about 12 hospitals,
-
4:45 - 4:49and we're adding hospitals to that network
at an accelerating rate. -
4:49 - 4:52All of those hospitals only receive
blood in this way, -
4:52 - 4:56and most of those hospitals
actually place multiple orders every day. -
4:57 - 4:58So the reason --
-
4:59 - 5:00in all of health care logistics,
-
5:00 - 5:03you're always trading off
waste against access. -
5:04 - 5:08So if you want to solve waste,
you keep everything centralized. -
5:08 - 5:11As a result, when patients
are having emergencies, -
5:11 - 5:14sometimes they don't have
the medical product they need. -
5:14 - 5:17If you want to solve access, you stock
a lot of medicine at the last mile, -
5:17 - 5:19at hospitals or health centers,
-
5:19 - 5:21and then patients have
the medicine they need. -
5:21 - 5:23But you end up throwing
a lot of medicine out, -
5:23 - 5:24which is very expensive.
-
5:25 - 5:27What's so amazing is that the Rwandan
government has been able -
5:27 - 5:30to break this cycle permanently.
-
5:30 - 5:33Because doctors can get
what they need instantly, -
5:33 - 5:36they actually stock
less blood at the hospitals. -
5:37 - 5:41So although use of blood products
has increased substantially -
5:41 - 5:42at all the hospitals we serve,
-
5:42 - 5:46in the last nine months,
zero units of blood have expired -
5:46 - 5:48at any of these hospitals.
-
5:49 - 5:52(Applause)
-
5:55 - 5:57That's an amazing result.
-
5:57 - 6:00That's actually not been achieved
by any other health care system -
6:00 - 6:01on the planet,
-
6:01 - 6:02and it happened here.
-
6:03 - 6:08But obviously, when we're talking about
delivering medical products instantly, -
6:08 - 6:10the most important thing is patients.
-
6:10 - 6:13Let me give you an example.
-
6:13 - 6:16A couple months ago, a 24-year-old mother
came into one of the hospitals -
6:16 - 6:17that we serve,
-
6:17 - 6:19and she gave birth via C-section.
-
6:20 - 6:23But that led to complications,
and she started to bleed. -
6:23 - 6:27Luckily, the doctors had some blood
of her blood type on hand -
6:27 - 6:30that had been delivered
via Zipline's routine service, -
6:30 - 6:33and so they transfused her
with a couple units of blood. -
6:33 - 6:36But she bled out of those units
in about 10 minutes. -
6:37 - 6:42In this case, that mother's life
is in grave danger -- -
6:42 - 6:44in any hospital in the world.
-
6:45 - 6:48But luckily, the doctors
who were taking care of her -
6:48 - 6:50immediately called
our distribution center, -
6:50 - 6:52they placed an emergency order,
-
6:52 - 6:57and our team actually did emergency
delivery after emergency delivery -
6:57 - 6:59after emergency delivery.
-
6:59 - 7:01They ended up sending
seven units of red blood cells, -
7:01 - 7:02four units of plasma
-
7:02 - 7:04and two units of platelets.
-
7:04 - 7:07That's more blood than you have
in your entire body. -
7:07 - 7:09All of it was transfused into her,
-
7:09 - 7:11the doctors were able to stabilize her,
-
7:11 - 7:14and she is healthy today.
-
7:14 - 7:17(Applause)
-
7:21 - 7:26Since we launched, we've done about 400
emergency deliveries like that, -
7:26 - 7:29and there's a story like that one
behind most of those emergencies. -
7:29 - 7:31Here are just a couple of the moms
-
7:31 - 7:33who have received transfusions in this way
-
7:33 - 7:34in the last couple months.
-
7:35 - 7:39We're always reminded: when we can help
a doctor save a mom's life, -
7:39 - 7:42it's not just her life that you're saving.
-
7:42 - 7:45That's also a baby boy or a baby girl
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7:45 - 7:47who has a mother while they're growing up.
-
7:49 - 7:52(Applause)
-
7:54 - 7:55But I want to be clear:
-
7:55 - 7:57postpartum hemorrhaging --
it's not a Rwanda problem, -
7:57 - 7:59it's not a developing-world problem --
-
7:59 - 8:00this is a global problem.
-
8:00 - 8:03Maternal health is a challenge everywhere.
-
8:03 - 8:06The main difference is that
Rwanda was the first country -
8:06 - 8:09to use radical technology
to do something about it. -
8:09 - 8:13And that's the reason this attitude
of Africa being disrupted -
8:13 - 8:15or advanced technology not working here
-
8:15 - 8:16or needing aid
-
8:16 - 8:18is so totally wrong.
-
8:18 - 8:20Africa can be the disrupter.
-
8:20 - 8:26These small, agile, developing economies
can out-innovate large, rich ones. -
8:26 - 8:30And they can totally leapfrog over
the absence of legacy infrastructure -
8:30 - 8:32to go straight to newer
and better systems. -
8:32 - 8:34In 2000,
-
8:34 - 8:38if you had said that high-quality
cellular networks were about to roll out -
8:38 - 8:39across all of Africa,
-
8:39 - 8:41people would have told you
that you were crazy. -
8:41 - 8:44And yet, no one anticipated
-
8:44 - 8:49how fast those networks were going
to connect and empower people. -
8:49 - 8:53Today, 44 percent of the GDP of Kenya
flows through M-Pesa, -
8:53 - 8:55their mobile payment platform.
-
8:55 - 8:56And not only that,
-
8:56 - 9:00but our autonomous fleet of vehicles
relies on that cellular network. -
9:00 - 9:03Over the next few years as we start
serving private health care facilities, -
9:03 - 9:06we'll also use that mobile
payment platform -
9:06 - 9:07to collect fees for deliveries.
-
9:08 - 9:12So innovation leads to more innovation
leads to more innovation. -
9:12 - 9:14And meanwhile,
-
9:14 - 9:17most people who live
in developed economies -
9:17 - 9:20think that drone delivery
is technologically impossible, -
9:20 - 9:24let alone happening
at national scale in East Africa. -
9:24 - 9:28And I do mean East Africa,
not just Rwanda. -
9:28 - 9:31On Thursday, just a couple days ago,
-
9:31 - 9:33the Tanzanian Ministry of Health announced
-
9:33 - 9:36that they are going to use
this same technology -
9:36 - 9:40to provide instant delivery
of a wide range of medical products -
9:40 - 9:43to 10 million of the hardest to reach
people in the country. -
9:44 - 9:47(Applause)
-
9:50 - 9:55It's actually going to be the largest
autonomous system anywhere in the world. -
9:55 - 9:57To give you a sense
of what this looks like, -
9:57 - 9:59this is one of the first
distribution centers. -
9:59 - 10:03You can see a 75-kilometer service radius
around the distribution center, -
10:03 - 10:06and that allows us to serve hundreds
of health facilities and hospitals, -
10:06 - 10:07all of which are rural,
-
10:07 - 10:09from that single distribution center.
-
10:09 - 10:12But to serve over 20 percent
of the population of Tanzania, -
10:12 - 10:15we're going to need
multiple distribution centers. -
10:15 - 10:16We'll actually need four.
-
10:16 - 10:18And from these distribution centers,
-
10:18 - 10:24we expect to be doing several hundred
lifesaving deliveries every day, -
10:24 - 10:28and this system will ultimately serve
over 1,000 health facilities -
10:28 - 10:30and hospitals in the country.
-
10:30 - 10:33So yeah, East Africa
is moving really fast. -
10:35 - 10:38One thing that people, I think, often miss
-
10:38 - 10:41is that these kinds of leaps
generate compounding gains. -
10:41 - 10:46For example, Rwanda, by investing
in this infrastructure for health care, -
10:46 - 10:50now has an aerial logistics network
that they can use -
10:50 - 10:53to catalyze other parts of their economy,
-
10:53 - 10:55like agriculture or e-commerce.
-
10:55 - 10:57Even more importantly,
-
10:57 - 11:02100 percent of the teams we hire
at these distribution centers are local. -
11:02 - 11:04So here's our Rwandan team,
-
11:04 - 11:07which is a group of extraordinary
engineers and operators. -
11:07 - 11:13They run the world's only
automated delivery system -
11:13 - 11:14operating at national scale.
-
11:15 - 11:17They have been able to master something
-
11:17 - 11:20that the largest technology
companies in the world -
11:20 - 11:22have not yet been able to figure out.
-
11:23 - 11:24So they are total heroes.
-
11:24 - 11:27(Applause)
-
11:29 - 11:30They're total heroes.
-
11:31 - 11:35Our team's mission is to deliver
basic access to medicine -
11:35 - 11:37to all seven billion people on the planet,
-
11:38 - 11:40no matter how hard it is to reach them.
-
11:40 - 11:42We often tell people about that mission,
-
11:42 - 11:45and they say, "That's so generous
of you, it's so philanthropic." -
11:45 - 11:46No!
-
11:46 - 11:48Philanthropy has nothing to do with it.
-
11:48 - 11:52Because of the commercial contracts
that we sign with ministries of health, -
11:52 - 11:56these networks are 100 percent
sustainable and scalable. -
11:56 - 12:00And the reason we feel so strongly
about correcting that misperception -
12:00 - 12:03is that entrepreneurship
is the only force in human history -
12:03 - 12:05that has lifted millions
of people out of poverty. -
12:05 - 12:08(Applause)
-
12:10 - 12:14No amount of foreign aid
is going to sustainably employ -
12:14 - 12:17250 million African youth.
-
12:19 - 12:23And the jobs that these kids
may have gotten 10 years ago -
12:23 - 12:25are largely being automated
-
12:25 - 12:27or are being changed
dramatically by technology. -
12:27 - 12:29So they are looking for new skill sets,
-
12:29 - 12:31new competitive advantages.
-
12:31 - 12:32They're looking for start-ups.
-
12:33 - 12:39So why aren't there more start-ups
that are tackling these global problems -
12:39 - 12:42that are faced by billions of people
in developing economies? -
12:43 - 12:46The reason is that investors
and entrepreneurs are totally blind -
12:46 - 12:47to the opportunity.
-
12:47 - 12:52We think these problems are the domain
of NGOs or governments, -
12:52 - 12:53not private companies.
-
12:53 - 12:55That's what we have to change.
-
12:58 - 13:00You may have noticed
I left something out of the video -
13:01 - 13:02that I showed you.
-
13:02 - 13:04I didn't show you how the planes land
-
13:04 - 13:06when they get back
to the distribution center. -
13:06 - 13:09So, it might be obvious to you:
-
13:09 - 13:11none of our planes have landing gear.
-
13:11 - 13:13We also don't have runways
where we operate. -
13:13 - 13:15So we have to be able
to decelerate the plane -
13:15 - 13:19from about 100 kilometers an hour
to zero in half of a second. -
13:19 - 13:20And the way we do that
-
13:20 - 13:24is we actually use a wire that tracks
that plane as it comes in, -
13:24 - 13:26with centimeter-level accuracy.
-
13:26 - 13:28We snag the plane out of the sky,
-
13:28 - 13:32and then we gently plop it
onto an actively inflated cushion. -
13:32 - 13:35This is basically a combination
of an aircraft carrier -
13:35 - 13:36and a bouncy castle.
-
13:36 - 13:37(Laughter)
-
13:38 - 13:39So let me show you.
-
13:46 - 13:48(Laughter)
-
13:49 - 13:52(Applause)
-
13:55 - 13:58And it might be obvious to you
why I wanted to end with this video. -
13:58 - 14:00I wanted to show you the kids
and the teenagers -
14:00 - 14:03who line up on the fence every day.
-
14:04 - 14:06They cheer every launch and every landing.
-
14:06 - 14:08(Laughter)
-
14:08 - 14:10(Applause)
-
14:12 - 14:15Sometimes I actually show up
at the distribution center early -
14:15 - 14:16because I'm jet-lagged.
-
14:17 - 14:19I'll show up an hour before
we begin operation. -
14:19 - 14:21And there will be kids on the fence
getting good seats. -
14:22 - 14:23(Laughter)
-
14:23 - 14:24And you go up and you ask them,
-
14:24 - 14:26"What do you think about the planes?"
-
14:26 - 14:28And they'll say, "Oh,
it's a sky ambulance." -
14:30 - 14:31So they get it.
-
14:31 - 14:33I mean, they get it more than most adults.
-
14:34 - 14:35So I was asking earlier:
-
14:35 - 14:41Who is going to be creating the disruptive
technology companies of Africa -
14:41 - 14:42over the next decade?
-
14:43 - 14:46Ultimately, it's going
to be up to these kids. -
14:47 - 14:51They are the engineers
of Rwanda and Africa. -
14:51 - 14:54They are the engineers
of our shared future. -
14:55 - 14:59But the only way they can build
that future is if we realize -
14:59 - 15:03that world-changing companies
can scale in Africa, -
15:03 - 15:06and that disruptive technology
can start here first. -
15:07 - 15:08Thanks.
-
15:08 - 15:12(Applause)
- Title:
- How we're using drones to deliver blood and save lives
- Speaker:
- Keller Rinaudo
- Description:
-
Keller Rinaudo wants everyone on earth to have access to basic health care, no matter how hard it is to reach them. With his start-up Zipline, Rinaudo has created the world's first drone delivery system to operate at national scale, transporting blood and plasma to remote clinics in East Africa with a fleet of electric autonomous aircraft. Find out how Rinaudo and his team are working to transform health care logistics throughout the world -- and inspiring the next generation of engineers along the way.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 15:30
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for How we're using drones to deliver blood and save lives | ||
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Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for How we're using drones to deliver blood and save lives | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for How we're using drones to deliver blood and save lives | ||
Leslie Gauthier edited English subtitles for How we're using drones to deliver blood and save lives | ||
Leslie Gauthier edited English subtitles for How we're using drones to deliver blood and save lives |