Pharmacy Drone Delivery Pilot in Helsinki

International drone services company Flyby Guys lead a pilot program in pharmacy drone delivery in Helsinki this week.

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

In Helsinki, a new method for the transportation of pharmaceutical products to customers will be tested. In a pilot spanning a week, select products from the Lauttiksen Apteekki pharmacy, located in Lauttasaari, Helsinki, will be delivered via drone to neighboring Jätkäsaari, located 2km away. The aim of the pilot is to gather experience in regards to the suitability of drones for the transport of pharmacy products, and to test the new service concept with customers.

Stephen Sutton, the Managing Director for Flyby Guys, will be operating as Pilot in Command for the duration of the trial period, and is hoping for a successful trial, not only in terms of the delivery process itself, but also in regards to social acceptance from the people living in the area.

The Details of Pharmacy Drone Delivery: from Temp Control to Local Birds

The flights are scheduled to take place from the 23th to 29th of August. The pharmacy products ordered by the customer will be packed in temperature-controlled packaging, which are then flown from Lahnalahdenpuisto in Lauttasaari to Saukontori in Jätkäsaari. The customer will then be able to pick up their order from Saukontori, where the drone landing point is located. By limiting the number of deliveries per day to a maximum of 7, weather conditions permitting, the delivery pilot will also ensure that the noise levels produced by the flight will not impact the local bird life.

The customers of the pharmacy are able to order selected drug-free pharmacy products by drone delivery from the Lauttiksen Apteekki online store. These ordered products are then picked up from the drone landing point at Saukontori in Jätkäsaari. More detailed instructions for the ordering process, as well as pharmacy products within the scope of drone deliveries can be found in the Lauttiksen Apteekki online store at e-apteekkari.fi.

Sutton will be flying a DJI M600 drone for the pilot flights, featuring a maximum payload of 5kg. He will also be documenting the missions exclusively on the Flyby Guys YouTube channel.

Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.