By Bill O’Brien
The Record-Eagle
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — A second state grant will help accelerate the use of uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) in several local applications as drone technology continues to expand in the Grand Traverse region.
State and local officials used a drone demonstration Monday afternoon at Munson Medical Center to announce a second $950,000 state grant from its Advanced Aerial Mobility Activation Fund to scale up a drone delivery pilot project launched last year by Traverse Connect, Munson Healthcare and several other partners. The project was kicked off with a $689,500 grant from the AAM Fund that was among more than $6 million of state funds awarded to four advanced aerial mobility initiatives around Michigan.
“This project rose right to the top when we were looking at the application funding for round one (of the grant program),” said Linn Smith, deputy administrator of the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Office of Aeronautics. “As we were looking at the results and some of the impacts that were identified and the partnerships we’re creating here, there was an opportunity for round two of grants — a scale-up fund...those of us at the Office of Aeronautics are pretty excited about this.”
Munson Healthcare launched its portion of the pilot project earlier this month, simulating the delivery of supplies, lab samples and medication using drones linking Munson Medical Center laboratory facilities on Sixth Street in Traverse City, Munson’s Copper Ridge Surgery Center in Garfield Township and the Munson Dialysis Center on West Royal Drive.
The drones were manufactured by the Michigan-based company blueflite of Brighton , while Virginia-based DroneUp developed the technology and software to operate the delivery equipment. Central Michigan University’s Rural Health Equity Institute is also a partner in the program.
“It’s more than just a drone delivery test,” Traverse Connect President and CEO Warren Call said. “It’s a glimpse into the future on how we connect people, services and opportunities. Uncrewed delivery of medical supplies between Munson Healthcare locations can mean faster and more efficient delivery of critical items like lab samples and medications, especially in rural and underserved communities.”
Tracy Cleveland, vice-president of Munson Healthcare’s supply chain, said transportation is “one of the most significant barriers” to efficient health care delivery in the region. Officials said Munson staffers drive more than 90,000 miles annually to transport laboratory samples, medications and other supplies between its various facilities spread across the region.
“This mode of delivery has the potential to be game-changing,” Cleveland said. “It allows the ability to more quickly, efficiently and safely get supplies and samples from one facility to another, and it means that patients will get their test results sooner, and that facilities in remote locations can gain access to supplies and test results faster.”
Eventually, Cleveland is hopeful that drone technology can be used to deliver medical supplies to patients who don’t have the ability to travel to Munson facilities.
“This would allow us to do home delivery for those pharmaceutical products,” he said.
This week’s demonstration involved the simulated delivery of a small package of laboratory samples from Munson’s Copper Ridge facility along West Silver Lake Road to a parking lot at Munson Medical Center — about a 4-minute flight for the aircraft. Another package was delivered to a highly-specialized drop box trailer — called a BX — located outside Copper Ridge from Munson Medical Center, and securely dropped in the BX that can be accessed by Munson staff.
Because of current Federal Aviation Administration regulations, the drones are required to operate only within the line-of-sight of operators, requiring staffers to be perched on top of Munson’s Webber Heart Center building to monitor the flights between the two locations.
Eventually, operators hope to secure a line-of-sight waiver from the FAA to allow a larger delivery range.
“We’re 90 percent there,” Cleveland said of the waiver process. “If we can accomplish a 5-mile radius around Munson with the next round of (grant) funding, it would be wildly successful.”
Cleveland described the drone project as “very exciting”, especially during the past two weeks as the demonstration formally went online after months of preparation.
“They fly and they land and they pick up and they deliver and it’s been perfect every time,” he said. “We’ve been very pleased with the results and the way we’ve been able to refine and improve the process over such a very short time.”
James McLearen , the co-founder and chief technology officer of blueflight, said the company is also working on replicating the drone delivery system for other health care operations, including a pending project in Louisiana.
“We think this can really be a pilot for what you can do for health care in other parts of the country,” McLearen said.
The AAM Fund is a state initiative between MDOT, the state Office of Future Mobility and Electrification and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to increase coordination between state agencies to create a centralized pipeline of aerial mobility projects and expand drone technology growth across the state.
John Jervinsky of CMU’s Rural Health Equity Institute said his organization is looking at the project to create a “guidebook” to help other communities in Michigan replicate the drone delivery technology and scale it for use in various rural areas.
“Our institute really looks to partner with rural communities as we try to help advance improved health outcomes in rural communities throughout Michigan,” he said. “We’re always looking for community-based solutions...we knew this was an exciting opportunity to look at what we could do to improve health outcomes in Michigan.”
Call said the applications for drone technology go beyond health care, noting an earlier demonstration on West Grand Traverse Bay this month that included a simulated search and rescue demonstration with the U.S. Coast Guard involving an uncrewed aerial system, along with water sampling and surface mapping applications
The impact doesn’t stop at health care,” he said. “This project positions Northern Michigan as a test bed for aerial mobility innovation. Thanks to the (state grants), we’re building a model for public-private partnerships in drone technology that will drive economic opportunity in this region ... we can create new jobs in technology, logistics, health care, and attract start-ups and investment and drone infrastructure.”
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