Two Lives Saved in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, by Emergency Response Drone Transport of Blood for Transfusion between Blood Transfusion Center and Hospital

Aeronext Inc. (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Keisuke Toji, hereinafter “Aeronext”) and our partner in Mongolia, the Newcom Group (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; CEO: B.Baatarmunkh), are pleased to announce that with Newcom Group’s MSDD（Mongolian Smart Drone Delivery) Operations Team, that two lives were saved by a drone emergency response blood transfer between the National Center for Transfusion Medicine and the Mongolian-Japanese Hospital attached to the National Medical University of Mongolia (hereinafter “Mongolia-Japan Hospital”)  on September 16, 2024

On September 16, 2024,, we received an urgent call from Mongolia-Japan Hospital that there was a shortage of blood for surgery, and AirTruck^*1, a dedicated logistics drone, delivered blood for transfusion in approximately 13 minutes over a distance of 4.75 km each way.

Chronic traffic congestion and fragile road infrastructure are serious societal problems in Mongolia and are also critical issues in terms of the transportation of healthcare supplies. To solve this issue, in November of last year, Aeronext and Newcom Group successfully conducted an automated flight between the National Center for Transfusion Medicine and Mongolia-Japan Hospital, where the emergency transport was carried out on September 16. This was the first flight in Mongolia for the purpose of transportation and delivery that received official approval from the Mongolian Civil Aviation Authority(commonly known as MCAA)  and was an automated flight over a non-private airspace, which is known in Japan as “Level 4” flight (unassisted, unobserved flight in a manned zone).

In addition, the two companies announced on the same day that they had reached a basic agreement to collaborate on the commercialization of drone logistics services in Mongolia, and have since been working toward the establishment of a regular medical delivery network using drones. NEXT DELIVERY Inc., a strategic subsidiary of Aeronext Inc., has been working with MSDD to establish a stand-alone flight operation system by MSDD; such as having its experienced flight operation team train MSDD flight operation staff in Japan for several months as remote pilots, and having NEXT DELIVERY’s flight operation staff conduct several rounds of on-the-ground training and skill checks in Mongolia. In June of this year, MSDD has obtained Mongolian No.1 license to commercially operate drone from the Civil Aviation Authority of Mongolia and from August of this year, actual operation of drone delivery of blood to 3 hospitals (Mongolia-Japan Hospital, Amgalan Hospital, and the First Mother and Child Center) in the city has begun.

Not only the drone being used in emergency responses like this time, but also the regular operations to deliver the blood for transfusion, which up until now has been done using street-based emergency vehicles, and 50 commercial flights in actual operation of drone delivery of blood has been conducted since August till the end of September of this year.

The two companies will continue to promote the development of societal infrastructure by building a new smart logistics^*3 SkyHub^TM*4 to address Mongolia’s social issues and needs, and contribute to solving Mongolia’s societal problems.

Reference

*1 Dedicated Logistics Drone AirTruck
AirTruck, the first mass-produced logistics drone developed in Japan by Aeronext, a next-generation drone technology startup, in collaboration with ACSL, achieves stable flight with Aeronext’s proprietary 4D GRAVITY^®*2 airframe structure design technology. AirTruck is a dedicated logistics drone that goes “faster, farther, and is more stable” with enhanced for logistics, specialized for forward motion, and aerodynamic characteristics required for long-distance flight. The prototype has flown in demonstration tests in various regions of Japan and has a best of class flight record in Japan.

*2 Airframe structural design technology 4D GRAVITY^®
Airframe structure design technology developed by Aeronext optimizes aerodynamic characteristics by equalizing motor speed regardless of attitude, condition, or movement during flight and controlling lift, drag, and fuselage center of gravity based on fuselage shape and structure to improve the basic performance of industrial drones, such as stability, efficiency, and mobility, and the transportation performance of drones dedicated to logistics. Aeronext has patented this technology and manages it as part of the 4D GRAVITY^® patent portfolio. 4D GRAVITY^® improves basic performance and opens up new markets and applications for industrial drones.

*3 New Smart Logistics
A public-private initiative to find solutions to the issues commonly faced by the logistics industry, such as labor shortages, environmental and energy issues, and DX areas, while utilizing digital and technology to ensure the future sustainability of logistics, which is an indispensable infrastructure for people’s daily lives. The project aims to realize the last mile joint delivery, the best mix of land and air transportation, freight and passenger consolidation, automated technology, etc., through co-creation based on an open public platform (O.P.P.) that transcends the boundaries between the industry and the outside world.

*4 New Logistics SkyHub^®︎
A new smart logistics platform jointly developed and deployed by Aeronext and Seino HD that connects existing land transportation and drone logistics, as well as connecting ground and air infrastructure to deliver goods anytime, anywhere. An open and standardized platform with built-in drone delivery, operating from Drone Depots^®︎ and using cars and drones as delivery vehicles, and SkyHub^®︎ TMS as the base for SkyHub^®︎ Delivery (shopping service), SkyHub^®︎ Eats (food delivery), SkyHub^®︎ Medical (pharmaceutical delivery), as well as joint delivery of packages from different logistics companies in bulk, to develop and provide services tailored to local issues and needs. In Japan, 10 municipalities have begun societal implementation of SkyHub^®︎ (as of the end of September 2024).

【About Aeronext Inc.】
Aeronext, an IP driven R & D technology startup for next-generation drones, is a company that designs the sky through technology to create a world where the sky becomes a social infrastructure, is economized, and solves social issues through drones. Our core technology is 4D GRAVITY^TM, a unique structural design technology that improves basic drone performance such as stability, efficiency, and mobility of industrial drones by optimizing the center of gravity of the aircraft. In order implement this 4D GRAVITY^®︎ as standard equipment on industrial drones, we have constructed a strong patent portfolio and are promoting a partnership-based platform business for the 4D GRAVITY^®︎ license globally. Aeronext has also founded a subsidiary to implement the SkyHub^® smart logistics and pursue drone delivery.
*For more information: https://aeronext.com/company/

【About Newcom Group 】
Newcom Group is Mongolia’s leading investment firm with over 30 years of track record of pioneering change across multiple industries and has a diverse portfolio of investments across telecommunication, aviation, renewable energy, real estate and mining services sectors.
*For more information: https://www.newcom.mn/ 

*Aeronext, the Aeronext logo, and NEXT DELIVERY, as well as “4D GRAVITY^TM” “SkyHub^TM“ “Drone Depot^TM” “Drone StandTM” are trademarks of Aeronext Inc. *Other company names and product/service names mentioned in this press release are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.