The vaccine drone delivery challenge

DavidIAm

Junior Member
Vanuatu, medical delivery drones, and FliteTest

MoH, in assessment with UNICEF, is exploring the use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), or drones, as a quick, reliable, and effective mode of transportation to deliver vaccines from main health facilities to dispensaries, aid post, and mobile vaccination teams. It also includes maintaining the cargo temperature between 2 and 8 Celsius degrees -to ensure the cold chain is not interrupted and the vaccines are delivered in optimal condition.

Text from: http://amazing-drones.com/2018/05/27/drone-based-vaccine-deliveries-in-vanuatu/

Consider the sort of companies that are likely to make bids here - the systems are going to be complicated, expensive as hell, and likely benefit the company more than the people of Vanuatu.

The challenge: build an autnomous craft capable of transporting 10 2.5ml vials of temperature sensitive material kept between 2 and 8 degrees celcius over a distance of 50 miles, landing unassisted without significant danger of breaking said vials.

(the vials are... well, tehy're pretty sturdy. They'd be difficult to actually break, even if thrown, against much of anything but hard rocks in direct contact with the glass)

Obviously will need to create an insulated phase-change stabilized (a solution that freezes at 3C or so) that fits around a rack of vaccines with an appropriately sized and powered drone to carry it. The software and hardware required to auto-pilot the assemblage somewhere useful is obtainable.

I think the FT Spear is almost entirely what is needed here.

The ability of FliteTest and community to put together cheap commodity hardware into a useful, aero-capable piece of gear is entirely unmatched by industry in intent or operation. Y'all could kick their butts.

This is not only a chance to show that we can engineer this kind of thing - but to benefit the people of the world with practical real world delivery applications using commodity hardware. I want to be able to tell the people of Vanuatu, you want to do that? We don't want to sell you diddlysquat - but we'll be happy to show you how to do that, so you yourself, YOUR people can sustain and refine and make a universe of drone delivery across your island nation.

I think this is a worthy endeavor. What say you?
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
It is definitely a worthy and quite achievable project, (Heck! My mind is racing with design options Vs cost Vs performance).

In order to keep costs of guidance systems to a minimum a return to base and a flight base altitude would need to be considered with a vertical delivery descent system over the target location also to be considered.

The cheaper the vertical descent stage the better so simply a parachute or similar is indicated.

To obtain the 100 mile range, (there and back) an IC motor with liquid fuel would be most efficient and if using disposable and low cost materials like FB the design would need to be a pusher design.

To be able to reuse or salvage the power system and electronics, (minimum), a ballistic Parachute recovery of the transport vehicle should be considered at the point of origin. This way the craft could be launched from a building top with a ramp or similar or even hand launched without the need to clear a landing area or strip.

To aid with recovery of the transported goods a simple RDF system or the use of an EPIRB type transmitter as well as an audible alarm could be considered.

To save on cost the speed of the deliver system could be brought down to around 30MPH this reduces the size of the required power plant and the amount, (weight), of fuel required.

Wingspan estimate without doing the in-depth sums would be 2 to 3 metres which is still quite achievable using FB and a few other simple materials.

It would be an interesting project for the FT crew to globally publicise FT, or a group of financial constructors to sink their teeth into.

Definitely a worthwhile endeavor even if nothing comes from it.

Just the ramblings of an oldie!

Have fun!
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
This is cool that people are looking for ways to use "drones" for good. However most are not so tech savvy and do not understand the complications as well as limitations to using them effectively as well as cost and power efficient.

Electric systems are limited by battery tech currently. Liquid fueled craft would be limited by carry weight AKA not so efficient. Final stage delivery at that range kind of limits the project to a fixed wing (possible VTOL craft). This is all before finding a way to get it from the air transport to the ground in the very random and remote locations I am assuming this idea is meant to serve.

Then comes a long range control system that could cover the 50 miles. Yes it could be set up for autonomous flight with gps coordinated way point navigation. Sadly autonomous means no survival in an emergency if any part of the system should fail, or a random bird attacks, or bad weather or even simple wind changes requiring more power use just to hold course. That leaves us with the issue of legal aspect where a long range system would require redundant controls in case of failure. The added component of active location system to other aircraft specifically detect and avoid full scale aircraft.

I am not saying that it can not be done as there are currently many being developed for the commercialization of UAV craft for delivery services and personal transportation and how to integrate all that with full scale aviation in a safe way. Those developments are taking millions in R&D using tech the normal hobbyist does not have access to nor could fund. After all the motto here is trying to do everything as cheap and as safe as possible. I just don't see anyone here working out a viable system using banggood parts and foam.

With hobby level tech at its current state there is no way it could be done reliably, safely, or cost effectively where the guarantee the needed medical supplies would arrive at their destination in a usable condition.

That said it surely does not mean our awesome community could not brain storm a way to do it for the more properly funded people to carry the project thru if that should happen.
 

DavidIAm

Junior Member
No, 'safe' is not important here. We don't even have enough of an impact profile on the environment and population that *even the most unsafe drones we could possibly build* would be likely enough to cause serious damage that it would be a problem. You're literally hedging safety in an environment where no decision you make regarding the design is going to cause the outcomes to be meaningfully negative *compared to not getting the medical supplies to destination expeditiously*. CHEAP is important here. REDUNDANT (as in, sending multiple drones) is important here. Its SAFER to get the goods to destination than it is to *NOT* get them them there - by many orders of magnitude the worst case 'risk' of lightweight drones falling out of the sky and hitting infants in the head.

SADLY? Lack of survival of the drone in an emergency if any part of the system should fail, or be attacked by birds, or weather, or a control system failure, or being blown out to sea? - this is why we build them out of cheap parts. Its better to dispatch 10 drones over 10 hours and get 6 to destination than to dispatch a crate and have the whole thing ruined. They are explicitly sacrificial in design - they're built out of foam and cardboard and sticks so that if they DO crash, *shrug* who cares, that's the whole *purpose* of doing it with hobbyist tech. It is cheaper in human life suffering and health to toss away a significant portion of the drones (and their payloads) than it is to lose the entire cargo of vaccines to a delayed shipment.

Legally, this is a request *by the government of Vanuatu* to operate *in their territory*. They can make 'legal' whatever the bloody heck they WANT to have legal, in a much more efficient and declarative fashion than we can in our massive western bureaucracies. What legal problem could you possibly be fantasizing about?

How reliable is reliable enough? How safely is cheaper or safer than having vaccines fail to get to people?
 

DavidIAm

Junior Member
As for Range: Why are you saying 'there and back'? The critical path is *getting the vaccines to the health worker*. Getting the drone back is irrelevant compared to that. This is where the health worker can re-power the drone (recharge or refuel if situation allows), or if not, detach the power/control pack and dispatch it back via slow boat post. Its a bonus if you can recycle the parts.
The proof of viability for me would be the ability to send these vaccines to their destination at a 0% recycle rate and 50% loss rate, improving outcomes (without crashes into people considered an externality) *AND STILL* get the people vaccinated cheaper and more reliably than fancy commercial type operations could.
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
This is still in the back of my head and bothering me. It is a challenge for sure. 50 miles is still no matter how you look at it extreme for hobby RC tech as it stands.

I do now after your last statement have other concerns about how you are going about this so nonchalantly. I am no Doctor by any means not even remotely qualified scientific person either. It still occurs to me that not caring about dropping strains of disease / virus / bacteria / cultures what ever form they are in on open range land areas where I will assume lesser educated peoples may be or worse yet animals that could get into these things is a high potential for serious issues.

I am now picturing a third world zombie apocalypse complete with zombie Capuchin monkeys and vampiric strains of antelope running free let alone more aggressive predatory animals being mutated somehow from these 50% failed to make it to their destination medical waste at that point for lack of better terms vaccines. Yes this is an extreme example for a potential out come but not totally impossible to happen.

The focus on being cheap over medical, ethical and morale duties as a medical professional for anything else beyond your particular target group both concerns me and scares me. The fact that an entity like UNICEF is jumping on this bandwagon is even more problematic.
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
On this I am 100% on board with PsyBorg and his concerns.

I have seen many people and companies who have caused or been blamed for personal injury or even death of people even though the use of their product was beyond their control or even that the cause the incident was through the deliberate actions of others.

We live in a litigious world. If you could guarantee low cost insurance against all claims and publicity into the 100s of millions of dollars then it might be a considered project.

As for a vehicle as per your totally indemnified operating model I would suggest that you check out the V1 from Nazi Germany its range was more than adequate and it was cheap to manufacture. Additionally there are a number of solid full rockets at the upper end of the hobby that could be altered for the task.

You could even check with UBER and their push for aerial taxi type vehicles On a slightly sillier note I here the Nth Koreans might have some missiles that they could soon need to be rid of.

I think the whole requirement would be better served with the supply of a couple of 2 seat ultralights, train some local pilots and some maintenance staff and let them do the vaccine drops. Being a 2 seat unit they could even provide emergency evacuation of the critical cases in an emergency with a little local ground clearing. Help the locals help themselves and everyone wins in the long run!

Just my thoughts!

have fun!
 

Thorondor

Active member
The first thing that came to mind when I read that was a Whoop with a syringe flying into somebody's shoulder.