Credit: Nuro
Mobile medicine on the move.
While it is arguably safer to leave your house right now than it was a couple of months ago, a lot of folks would still rather stay home until the pandemic dies down. Completely understandable, especially for those in riskier populations like senior citizens. However, a problem many have no doubt encountered by now is that if you can’t leave the house, you can’t pick up prescription medicine. Pharmacies do offer delivery services, but any kind of human interaction can still present a risk, even if it’s a small one. With the power of robotics, though, we can take that risk out of the equation.
Autonomous robotics startup Nuro has teamed up with CVS Pharmacies in Houston, Texas for a trial run of their mobile delivery drones. Recently, Nuro has loaned the drones out to a few different industries as test cases, including grocery delivery and critical medical equipment for hospitals. With CVS, the order of the day is prescription medicines. The trial will run out of one CVS location in Bellaire, Texas, where customers will be able to request autonomous delivery for any medication deliveries. When the drone arrives at its destination, the customer will need to confirm their identity, then the storage compartment will open up with their order. This service will be completely free for CVS customers.
Credit: Nuro
“We are seeing an increased demand for prescription delivery,” Ryan Rumbarger, senior vice president of store operations at CVS Health, said in a statement. “We want to give our customers more choice in how they can quickly access the medications they need when it’s not convenient for them to visit one of our pharmacy locations.”
The trial will begin in June and run for an unspecified period. Nuro has also had its autonomous vehicles delivering meals and supplies in Sacramento to medical staff working at temporary healthcare facilities for COVID-19 patients since April.
