Drone transports lab samples across Lake Zurich

The drone has been in operation since 20 June, transporting laboratory samples between the main laboratory of Zentrallabor Zürich (ZLZ) and the ZLZ emergency laboratory at the Hirslanden Klinik im Park. The previous transport route by road went around Lake Zurich. The drone, in contrast, can fly directly over the lake, allowing laboratory samples to reach their destination around five times faster, according to a Swiss Post statement.

“With drone transport, we’re less reliant on the traffic situation in Zurich,” said Marco Fischer, managing director of ZLZ. “The faster the lab samples reach us, the faster we can get the results back to the patient.“

Swiss Post is testing the flight path over the next two weeks in cooperation with the California-based drone manufacturer Matternet and ZLZ. The laboratory will then decide if it will use the drones for transporting laboratory samples in the future.

Swiss Post has already conducted several pilot projects with Matternet, for instance transporting laboratory samples in Lugano and Geneva. “Thanks to the use of drones, the transport of laboratory samples will become more flexible, ecological and, of course, faster,” said Claudia Pletscher, Head of Development & Innovation at Swiss Post.