Boston Herald in Education provides free newspapers and curriculum to schools through sponsor and reader donations.

Front Page Talking Points

FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 13, 2019

We'll see more drones overhead as business and hospital uses expand

frontpageactionpoints.gif

1.gifRead another article about a hospital, medical professional or patient. Why is it newsworthy?

2.gifLook for other technology coverage and describe any gee whiz portion.

3.gifWere those stories clear, even for someone unfamiliar with the topic? Did you look up – or skip -- any new word?

Business use of drones expands steadily as stores and delivery services, builders, photographers and even hospitals use the small, pilotless mini-aircraft. The commercial market is growing faster than expected, a recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report says. Nearly 15,000 are registered each month, according to the government agency (not counting personal ones used by hobbyists). By 2023, the government estimates that 823,000 drones will be registered nationwide.

As drones "become operationally more efficient and safe, battery life expands and integration continues, new business models will begin to develop," the aviation agency says. Applications include delivery of drugstore prescriptions and other small, light packages, as well as like search and rescue by fire and police departments. A newsmaking advance came in mid-April when a Baltimore hospital used a drone to bring an organ to a patient – a time-critical mission demonstrated in the trial-run video below.

That medical flight was by a custom-made drone with eight rotors. The craft was roughly the size of a washing machine. Its 10-minute trip whisked a human kidney nearly three miles to a hospital, where surgeons successfully transplanted the organ into a 44-year-old woman who had waited eight years for a lifesaving transplant. It was the first such drone flight, and it almost certainly won't be the last. In North Carolina, a hospital uses drones to speed the delivery of blood and other medical samples across its campus. In a partnership with UPS, the drone carries a small cooler of medical samples to a lab three quarters of a mile away in less than four minutes in the air. UPS hopes to expand the service to other hospitals.

In a non-medical development, a Google-financed company named Wing is the first to get FAA approval for drone delivery of goods to businesses and homes. The app-based service already operates in Australia and soon will in Finland. It will begin in Virginia later this year. "We've never been able to receive goods that fast," said Mark Blanks, the director of Virginia Tech's drone program, which partnered with Wing.

Doctor says: "Organ drones have the potential to improve access to transplants, decrease costs and improve quality," Joseph R. Scalea, a transplant surgeon at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Transplant executive says: "If we can prove that this works, then we can look at much greater distances of unmanned organ transport. This would minimize the need for multiple pilots and flight time and address safety issues we have in our field." – Charlie Alexander, chief executive of the Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland

University specialist says: "The biggest challenge for drone delivery going mainstream will probably be public acceptance. . . . Now we need to talk to the communities and figure out how to integrate this in a way that's beneficial for everyone." – Mark Blanks, director of the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership

Front Page Talking Points is written by Alan Stamm for NIEonline.com, Copyright 2024

Front Page Talking Points Archive

Tricky balance: Supreme Court tries to keep law and politics separate this election year
Here's why SAT and ACT exams are back on more students' college paths
Congress moves toward TikTok forced sale or ban for national security reasons
Swift and sleek: Amtrak is closer to saying 'all aboard' for a new era of high-speed rail travel
New era in space: Flying to the moon is a business for private companies now
Presidential campaign remark about NATO fuels discussion of military alliance's role
Museums across U.S. scramble to make amends for collecting that sometimes was looting
Script handwriting isn't gone -- more states now require school penmanship lessons
Teen use of nicotine patches – also known as Zyns, lip cushions or gum pillows – spurs warnings
Airline safety draws new attention after midair cabin hole scare for passengers
Click her to browse the complete archive

Common Core State Standard
SL.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: An essay of a current news event is provided for discussion to encourage participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the article. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event within the news, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.

©2024 Boston Herald in Education and Online Publications Inc. and NIEonline.com