NEWS POST: Special Delivery: Zipline, UPS Partner To Carry Medical Supplies By Drone In Rwanda

The service, paid for by the Rwandan government, will serve as a testing ground for drone delivery.

Drones manufactured by Zipline

This drone is cute. Two red wings sprout from its short, lightweight body. It's little and sort of tubby, seeming to exclaim, "I'm an airplane too!"

But its mission will be vital. The drones, manufactured by Zipline, will deliver blood and, later, rabies vaccines to remote Rwandan health clinics. A small paperboard box filled with the life-saving medical supplies fits into the belly of the drone, along with a parachute. Flying long distances over frequently washed-out roads, the drones will get help to those in need faster than the current delivery methods of motorcycles and trucks.

Zipline, based south of San Francisco, will have muscle behind its diminutive drones. It has partnered with the UPS Foundation, which is the shipping giant's charitable wing, and the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, which helps distribute vaccines in Rwanda and elsewhere.

A small paperboard box filled with the life-saving medical supplies fits into the belly of the drone

The Rwandan government will pay for each delivery Zipline makes. The arrangement is a unique way to test drone shipping, a much-hyped service that no company in the US has yet been able to deliver on.

Amazon, Walmart and Google have been developing their ability to deliver by drone, but the Federal Aviation Administration currently restricts drone operation tightly. It's still sorting out what to do about the nascent technology buzzing through America's busy airspace. The situation is different in Rwanda.

The country's aviation regulator has cleared Zipline for takeoff. That's possible partly because Rwandan airspace is simpler, said Keller Rinaudo, CEO and founder of Zipline. There are fewer hobby pilots, parachutists and commercial flights for drones to dodge. There's also less bureaucracy.

Launcher would fire the drone into the air for flight

"In reality, they are able to move a little faster," Rinaudo said Thursday at a press event at Zipline's headquarters. Seated on a stage with UPS Foundation President Eduardo Martinez, Rinaudo explained that the FAA faces a conundrum.

"The main thing the FAA wants is data," Rinaudo said, but it can't get data without letting people operate drones.

So off to Rwanda go the Zipline drones. Starting in July, health workers can order blood from Zipline's hub with a text message -- something the company's employees frequently compare to ordering a pizza. It even takes just 30 minutes for blood to arrive. The delivery of rabies vaccine will start sometime in the future, Rinaudo said.

The Zipline drone has two fixed wings, looking more like a model airplane than the insect-like quadcopter drone. On Thursday, its launch in front of the gathered reporters is a dramatic event. Placed in a cradle at the bottom of a metal beam angled up toward the horizon, the drone takes off with a hiss and a bang. It shoots up the metal beam and into the sky, circling the airspace above.

The box falls quickly despite its fluttering plastic parachute but inside, the plastic packet containing (fake) blood and a bottle of medicine are intact.

Soon it's making laps a few hundred yards away, measuring the wind before making its drop. After charting a course, the drone swoops in and ejects the box, which falls quickly despite its fluttering plastic parachute. It thuds to the ground. But inside, the plastic packet containing (fake) blood and a bottle of medicine are intact.

Then the drone heads back. It lands, but Zipline protects its landing mechanism as a trade secret and asked reporters, as a condition of attending the event, not to describe it.

From the moment the plane takes off, everything is automated. The plane is full of sensors that send flight information back to the ground to be logged and interpreted by Zipline engineers. That data will be invaluable to the company as it works to build its credibility as a drone delivery company.

With UPS involved, it's easy to imagine what the shipping giant has in mind for the future. Asked what UPS believes it will get from its involvement, Martinez said the company's foundation always gains valuable information when it works on humanitarian and disaster relief projects.

"We obviously learn about this process," he said of the drone delivery program, "but this is a strictly humanitarian mission and we're excited to be a part of it."

Drop Blood Not Bombs: Drones To Deliver Emergency Medicine To Rwanda

© Stephen Lam / Reuters

Drones are frequently associated with less than altruistic causes – such as remote attacks. However, UPS is teaming up with drone company Zipline and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to deliver blood for transfusions in Rwanda.

Beginning in June, doctors and healthcare providers in rural Rwanda will be able to order supplies with just a text message. Within 30 minutes, they will receive a delivery of blood or other medical necessities via a Zipline drone. Each package will be dropped with a tiny parachute attached.

In a country like Rwanda, the ability to quickly airdrop supplies could be a game changer. For example, heavy floods have caused landslides in North Rwanda, blocking off roads, Al-Jazeera reported Monday. Therefore, a startup like Zipline could make a huge difference in remote places. 

“UPS is always exploring innovative ways to enhance humanitarian logistics to help save lives, and we’re proud to partner with Gavi and Zipline as we explore ways to extend the Rwandan government’s innovations at a global scale,” Eduardo Martinez, president of the UPS Foundation and chief diversity and inclusion officer at the United Parcel Service said in a press release.

Zipline and the Rwandan government will begin making as many as 150 blood deliveries a day with their eventual goal being to be within a 30-minute delivery radius of 11 million Rwandan citizens by the end of 2016, MarketWatch reported.

“With the expertise and vision of UPS, Gavi and Zipline, instant drone delivery will allow us to save thousands of lives in a way that was never before possible,” Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo said in the UPS Foundation press release.

The way that the drone works is not unlike ordering food online, and the process will begin when a doctor or nurse sends a request for blood via text, CNET reported. When it is received, a staff member at the West Rwanda Zipline hub loads up a box with the necessary supplies and launches the drone. The drone flies to its destination based on a predetermined flight plan. Then it sends a text message to the doctor several minutes before it approaches its destination. When it does, it releases the package and then returns to its base.

Zipline hopes to expand into delivering the rabies vaccine as well, according to Rinaudo.

Originally published in CNET (STORY 1) and in RT News (STORY 2)

Creativity & Intellectual Property — Weak Systems And Institutions Scuttle Nigeria Harvesting Wealth Hidden In Intellectual Property

Image credits: supplied

This writer has uncovered evidence that the absence of pedagogy inculcating creativity across several disciplines in its broadest ramifications is adversely affecting: 1) efficacy of the introduction of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in Nigeria; 2) yields on Intellectual Property and national systems of innovation; and 3) returns from Nigeria’s creative economy. In addition, the areas which bear the full brunt of Nigeria’s neglect of teaching creativity include: 1) level of national inventiveness and invention capacity; 2) Innovation and entrepreneurship; and 3) Quality of life.

In this post, the writer briefly outline how weak systems and institutions are depriving Nigeria potential wealth from Intellectual Property within the context of the cultural and creative economy.

By Kenneth Nwachinemelu David-Okafor

This post is the start of NAIJAGRAPHITTI BLOG contribution toward Intellectual Property Education. The post outlines research findings pertaining to Intellectual Property with the framework of the creative and cultural economy.

All around the world, the creative and cultural economy is talked about as an important and growing part of the global economy.

The term refers to the socio-economic potential of activities that trade with creativity, knowledge and information. Governments and creative sectors across the world are increasingly recognizing its importance as a generator of jobs, wealth and cultural engagement. At the heart of the creative economy are the cultural and creative industries that lie at the crossroads of arts, culture, business and technology. What unifies these activities is the fact that they all trade with creative assets in the form of Intellectual Property (IP); the framework through which creativity translates into economic value.

A description of IP is that by practitioners and scholars is that "Intellectual Property Rights are exclusive legal rights over creations of the mind."

Intellectual Property Rights give the owner rights from which to exploit their intellectual creation.  They are considered crucial to fostering innovation by providing a financial incentive to stimulate creativity, whereby businesses can reap the benefits from their inventions and will be more willing to invest in research and development. Intellectual Property is generally divided into two branches – namely industrial property and copyright.  Industrial property largely protects inventions, the most commonly used forms are patents, trademarks and industrial designs.  Copyright protects literary and artistic works.

One study notes "In today’s knowledge based economy, returns on investment for knowledge are higher than returns on other factors of production.  Intellectual property rights contribute to ensuring profitability from knowledge. Coupled with this is the fact that in the digital, globalized era it is much easier to reproduce creations than ever before.  A song, film or book in digital form can be transmitted globally and instantaneously via the internet.  A machine created in Norway can be reverse engineered, perfectly reproduced and put on the market in another country with minimal effort.  Ensuring that rights are in place provides a legal basis from which to protect against copying. According to the FBI, Interpol, World Customs Organization and International Chamber of Commerce, roughly 7-8% of world trade every year is in counterfeit goods. That is the equivalent of as much as US$512 billion in global lost sales. IP theft poses a risk to all industry sectors; those most commonly affected are manufacturing, consumer goods, technology, software, and biotechnology, including pharmaceuticals."

From a review of literature, experts have identified the creative economy as the fourth wave of economic development after agriculture, industrial and information based economic development. Creative economy is how value added can be generated based on ideas and creativity of people based on existing knowledge (including cultural heritage and traditional wisdom) and technology.

Creative industries rightly perceived as industries which produce output from creativity and innovation, and which create value added, jobs and better quality of life. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and others have been at the forefront of showing the linkages and interrelationship between creativity, education for creativity and innovation, the creative economy and sustainable development.

Developing countries are seeing great opportunities in the creative industries. While they may have benefitted less from industrial development in the world, they are hoping to be able to benefit more from their history, their cultural heritage and their competence in this explosion of culture.

Developing countries’ exports of related creative goods (including computers, cameras, television sets, and broadcasting and audio-visual equipment) increased rapidly over the period 1996–2005, from US$51 billion to US$274 billion. UNCTAD (2008, p. 29) explains that this spectacular growth is indicative of the catching-up strategies being pursued in a number of developing countries to increase their capacities to supply value-added products to global markets. It also reaffirms the continually expanding demand for creative products that rely on these related industries for their distribution and consumption. While developed countries have dominated both export and import flows, developing countries year after year have increased their share of world markets for creative products, and their exports have risen faster than those from developed countries. Exports of creative goods from developing economies accounted for 29 % of world exports of creative goods in 1996 and reached 41 % in 2005.

The total investments and yield of Nigeria’s creative economy is comparative very low according to UNESCO and UNCTAD estimates compared to some other African and OECD countries. The picture of Nigeria in the Intellectual Property arena is dire.

During the celebration of the World Intellectual Property Day in 2013, the US embassy in Nigeria website published an Editorial Opinion written by the US Ambassador at the time, Terence P. McCulley in which he remarked, "Nigeria’s cultural patrimony includes contributions by immensely talented artists known around the world:  musicians like Fela Kuti, poets like Wole Soyinka, and writers like Chinua Achebe, among others.  April 26 marked World Intellectual Property Day, a day on which we recognize the contributions creative individuals and industries bring to our global community and highlight the importance of preserving their intellectual property (IP) around the world.  The theme of this year’s World IP Day, "Creativity: The Next Generation," reminds us that, as we honor (sic) the rich creative history of Nigeria, we must continue to look for ways to encourage and foster Nigeria’s future artists, musicians, poets, and authors. Supporting this next generation will advance an already notable legacy and provide a cultural and economic platform to support their creativity."

"…Why should we care about protecting intellectual property?  Consider the number of times every day you hear a new song on the radio, see a Nollywood movie, buy a trademarked product that you can be confident is produced to high standards, or use a piece of technology, like a cellular telephone, that relies on the latest patented technology.  The protection of intellectual property rights enhances a country’s development and promotes its business and artistic environments.  Such protections stimulate advances that benefit the entire world – in the form of technology, medicine, and other processes.  An intellectual property rights regime that effectively and efficiently addresses protections and enforcement encourages innovation and consumer and business confidence, all of which can lead to strong economic development and high-paying jobs. 

"We commend the Nigerian Government's commitment to improving the protection of IPR, strengthening the ability of Nigerian officials and organizations to enforce existing laws, and developing its creative industries. This includes the reform effort announced in November 2012 by the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to modernize the legal and regulatory framework for copyrights in Nigeria.  These reforms will bring Nigerian copyright regulations in line with international norms. But the U.S. and global community remain concerned about inability to effectively enforce Nigeria’s IP laws.  This lack of resources is a major obstacle to protecting IP rights in Nigeria.  It also restricts access by Nigerians to U.S. works and innovations; the lack of enforcement to prevent infringing IP rights in the digital environment is a challenge to U.S. companies that seek to distribute licensed, or legally protected, content in Nigeria. 

"In Nigeria and across Sub-Saharan Africa, the problem of fake medications is so rampant that pharmaceutical companies have had to develop methods to help combat counterfeit medicines, such as the use of a mobile telephone verification system to identify authentic drugs from fakes.  A society with modern IP laws and institutions that effectively enforces these laws, however, would not have to ask its citizens to confirm the authenticity of the medications they are consuming."

Inside Ambassador McCulley’s statement were contained a number of concepts related to creativity including intellectual property and a cultural and economic platform that supports creativity which Nigeria was not enjoying the fruits therefore and had no systems in place to ensure future growth and rewards. Intellectual property is so vital to developed economies that the United Kingdom for one has a Minister for Intellectual Property whereas Nigeria has only the Copyright Commission and a rash of legislation to back up poorly regulated and organized intellectual property in Nigeria.

McCulley could not have cast the problems with intellectual property rights and intellectual property rights regime as a whole in Nigeria and the prospective solutions more clearly.

THIS POST IS PART OF A LARGER BODY OF WORK TO BE SERIALIZED HERE

NEWS POST: PIN Man Hails 'Eureka Moment' 50 Years Ago

James Goodfellow is the inventor of personal identification number technology (Family handout/PA)

The man behind personal identification number (PIN) technology, which allows people to withdraw cash from bank machines, has recalled his "eureka moment" as he marks 50 years since its invention.

James Goodfellow, 79, was a young engineer working in Glasgow in the 1960s when the banks were looking for a way of letting customers get hold of their money after branches closed on a Saturday morning.

He worked on the project for a number of weeks and came up with the idea of a coded card with a personal number to access money from cash machines.

After getting the go-ahead from bosses and the "great and the good" of the banks, he started work on developing the concept with a team of engineers.

The patent was then applied for on May 2, 1966, and the system soon became accessible for millions of people around the world.

Mr Goodfellow said he had gained no financial benefit from his invention but has gradually received recognition over the years.

Ten years ago he was named an OBE, and in 2014 was given an honorary doctorate from the University of the West of Scotland.

Mr Goodfellow, who lives with wife of 50 years Helen in Paisley, Renfrewshire, said: "The banks wanted an automatic cash dispenser - something that would provide a service 24/7 unmanned.

"They wanted a methodology for allowing access to cash on this unmanned basis. It eventually landed on my desk and the reason probably was that in 1964 I had spent some time in the United States designing access control systems."

Recalling the time dedicated to the project, he said: "I was left with this problem - the demand was a million customers, 2,000 machines scattered throughout the UK which anyone could use at any time, and only money dispensed to a recognized person.

"The conventional view at the time was that it was going to be biometrics - such as your fingerprint - but that was totally impractical for many reasons."

He said: "The actual sort of eureka moment took place when I was messing around and suddenly realized that I could do it and it would probably solve the problem.

"That took place in my head and then on an engineering model but there was quite a bit of work to put it together into a demonstration form.

"I bundled this great thing on to a trolley at central station and wheeled it down and took it off at Euston, put it in a taxi and set it up in a boardroom and then the great and the good of the banks and the insurance companies were given the demonstration.

"We now had a token identified to a person, issued by the bank, along with a number they had to keep secret and that was the personal identification number. If you got it right then you got the money - which is exactly the same as what happens today."

Mr Goodfellow said it was just part of his remit as a research and development engineer to work on the technology and it was seen as a successful project.

"I shortly went to work somewhere else and forgot about it," he added.

Although he received no financial reward for his invention, he insists he has "no grumbles" and is most proud of having been recognized by his local university as well as being inducted into a hall of fame at Harvard University in America.

Cash Machine Inventor Recalls His US$15 Fee For Revolutionizing The World Of Banking

James Goodfellow patented his ATM design in 1966

It May have been a humble beginning but the invention bundled onto a trolley in Glasgow’s Central Station went on to revolutionize the banking industry and make life easier for millions of people.

On May 2, 1966, James Goodfellow patented his design for personal identification number (PIN) technology and 50 years later there are three million cash-withdrawal machines worldwide.

Back living in his Paisley birthplace, Goodfellow has recalled his “eureka” moment to mark the 50th anniversary of the patent he made while working as a young engineer in Glasgow.

Yet while it is used by millions of people around the world every day and eventually gained Goodfellow an OBE, an induction into the Hall of Fame at Harvard University in the US and an honorary doctorate from the University of the West of Scotland, he made only US$15 from the invention – a pittance compared with the banker bonuses of today or the £33 billion Mark Zuckerberg has made from Facebook.

He is not bitter, however, and says his brainwave was just part of his job for Glasgow firm Kelvin Hughes.

“The banks wanted an automatic cash dispenser – something that would provide a service 24/7 unmanned,” he recalls.

“They wanted a methodology for allowing access to cash on this unmanned basis. It eventually landed on my desk and the reason probably was that in 1964 I had spent some time in the United States designing access control systems.

“I was left with this problem – the demand was a million customers, 2,000 machines scattered throughout the UK which anyone could use at any time, and only money dispensed to a recognized person.

“The conventional view at the time was that it was going to be biometrics – such as your fingerprint – but that was totally impractical for many reasons.” He adds: “The actual sort of eureka moment took place when I was messing around and suddenly realized that I could do it and it would probably solve the problem.

“That took place in my head and then on an engineering model but there was quite a bit of work to put it together in demonstration form.

"I bundled this great thing on to a trolley at Central Station and wheeled it down and took it off at Euston, put it in a taxi and set it up in a boardroom and then the great and the good of the banks and the insurance companies were given the demonstration.

“We now had a token identified to a person, issued by the bank, along with a number they had to keep secret and that was the personal identification number. If you got it right then you got the money – which is exactly the same as what happens today.”

While an Englishman called John Shepherd-Barron claimed to be the inventor of the ATM, even though his machine was installed 14 months after Goodfellow’s patent was lodged, the UK Government has now officially recognized Goodfellow’s achievement in a new edition of a guidebook to life in the UK.

Under the heading “great British inventions of the 20th century” the book states: “In the 1960s, James Goodfellow (1937-) invented the cash-dispensing automatic teller machine (ATM) or ‘cashpoint’.”

After the invention, the married father-of-one went on to work for computer giant IBM for 26 years.

He is no longer sure what he did with the US$15 but thinks he may have spent it on a night out.

“The remuneration was US$15. I had to make patent applications for 15 countries, and the standard fee for a patent signature was US$1. It didn’t change my life.”

However, he added: “I was very happy doing the job I was doing.”
Originally published in Press Association Wires(STORY 1) and The Scot National (STORY 2)