Lifesaving AED Drone Delivery Program To Launch This Year

Flirtey has partnered with 4 of the 10 governments selected for the nationwide Drone Integration Pilot Program. Flirtey and its government partners will now have access to fast-tracked regulatory approvals as they work to expand lifesaving drone delivery operations across America.

The FAA and DOT received 149 proposals for the Drone Integration Pilot Program, which is a 3 year program to accelerate the safe integration of drones into the national airspace. It supports efforts to accelerate the regulatory framework, determine the appropriate roles of federal, state, and local governments regarding drone operations, and foster technological innovation to ensure the global leadership of the U.S. in the emerging drone industry.

"The drone age is now a reality thanks to President Trump and Secretary Chao, and Flirtey drones will be delivering packages to Americans in less than 90 days," said Flirtey CEO Matthew Sweeny. "Flirtey is committed to our partners across the nation, and we're excited to work closely with them to bring drone delivery to their communities. Flirtey's drone delivery service has the potential to save more than 100,000 lives per year and more than 1,000,000 American lives over each decade to come."

One application of Flirtey's technology is using drones to deliver AEDs to cardiac arrest patients to save lives. Cardiac arrest is the leading cause of natural death in America, and for every minute that a cardiac arrest patient waits to receive defibrillation, their odds of survival decrease by about 10 percent per minute.

Deploying AEDs via drones can increase the cardiac arrest survival rate from just 10 percent today, to approximately 47 percent. In the City of Reno, just 1 Flirtey delivery drone has the potential to save at least 1 life every 2 weeks. Flirtey and the City of Reno, with support from Reno Police Department and Reno Fire Department, have partnered with FedEx, Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority, Alpine Insurance, Northern Nevada Medical Center, The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Truckee Meadows Community College, Reno Fire Department, Reno Police Department, City of Sparks and Sparks Fire Department, Carson Fire Department, Iris Automation, AirMap, T-Mobile and The American Red Cross.

Next steps for Flirtey are to work closely with its 4 Drone Integration Pilot Program partners across the country, as well as with the White House, DOT and FAA to fast-track regulatory approvals, engage in extensive community outreach, and jumpstart lifesaving drone delivery.

(Image provided with Flirtey news release)

FMI: www.flirtey.com