Police recover Swiss Post drone that crashed into Lake Zurich
Police divers have retrieved a drone that fell into Lake Zurich on Friday while carrying blood samples from a clinic to a laboratory as part of a test project.
The divers recovered the drone on Monday. It was found at a depth of around 20 metres with an open parachute attached, Zurich police said in a statement.
The force also released footage of the recovery process, which can be seen in the tweet below.
Bilder der heutigen Bergung der am Freitag, 25. Januar 2019, über dem Zürcher Seebecken abgestürzten Transportdrohne. Hier gehts zur entsprechenden Medienmitteilung: https://t.co/9hemAYOgV2 ^spa pic.twitter.com/IecWCNPkrJ
— Stadtpolizei Zürich (@StadtpolizeiZH) January 28, 2019
The drone was carrying a 'non-relevant' blood sample (that is, one which had been previously analysed) in a bid to see whether flight conditions affected the sample.
Friday's flight was part of a year-long project during which Swiss Post, drone manufacturer Matternet, University Hospital Zurich (USZ) and the Irchel Campus of the University of Zurich (UZH) will look at the long-term viability of using autonomous drones.
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The route taken by the drone on Friday. Image: Swiss Post
Other similar pilot projects have been carried out in Bern and Lugano without incident.
But Swiss Post have now said they will stop all drone flights in Zurich and Lugano until the causes of Friday’s crash have been established.
The incident is a setback for the Post, which has long positioned itself at the forefront of drone technology.
In a statement announcing the Zurich test project in December, Swiss Post noted rapid transport was particularly important in the medical sector.
Read also: Drone comes withing 20 metres of colliding with plane in Zurich
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The divers recovered the drone on Monday. It was found at a depth of around 20 metres with an open parachute attached, Zurich police said in a statement.
The force also released footage of the recovery process, which can be seen in the tweet below.
Bilder der heutigen Bergung der am Freitag, 25. Januar 2019, über dem Zürcher Seebecken abgestürzten Transportdrohne. Hier gehts zur entsprechenden Medienmitteilung: https://t.co/9hemAYOgV2 ^spa pic.twitter.com/IecWCNPkrJ
— Stadtpolizei Zürich (@StadtpolizeiZH) January 28, 2019
The drone was carrying a 'non-relevant' blood sample (that is, one which had been previously analysed) in a bid to see whether flight conditions affected the sample.
Friday's flight was part of a year-long project during which Swiss Post, drone manufacturer Matternet, University Hospital Zurich (USZ) and the Irchel Campus of the University of Zurich (UZH) will look at the long-term viability of using autonomous drones.
The route taken by the drone on Friday. Image: Swiss Post
Other similar pilot projects have been carried out in Bern and Lugano without incident.
But Swiss Post have now said they will stop all drone flights in Zurich and Lugano until the causes of Friday’s crash have been established.
The incident is a setback for the Post, which has long positioned itself at the forefront of drone technology.
In a statement announcing the Zurich test project in December, Swiss Post noted rapid transport was particularly important in the medical sector.
Read also: Drone comes withing 20 metres of colliding with plane in Zurich
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