Product Summary and Analysis Draft 3

According to the website Matternet (n.d.-b), the service provided by the Matternet Compact M2 Quadcopter helps to meet the company's goal of improving transportation of goods to be as accessible as information. The drone is used to deliver online packages and medical supplies. Currently, the drone is working together with companies such as UPS to help improve the transportation of blood and tissue samples (Adams, 2019).

Based on the website Mattenet (n.d.-a), the drone is part of an integrated system that is linked to the Matternet Cloud and the Matternet Station. The cloud system allows the drone to fly autonomously. The Matternet Station allows the drone to automatically load packages and allows it to change its own battery. The drone is able to pick up packages of up to 2 kilograms and fly as far as 20 kilometres on a single charge. In the case of emergency, the drone has its own in built safety feature such as its self-deploying parachutes (post, 2017).

Unlike drones from companies such as Zipline, the Matternet Compact M2 Quadcopter stands out as it is part of an integrated system that works together with the Matternet Station and the Matternet Cloud.

A special feature that stands out for the Matternet drone is its link to the Matternet Station. According to Matternet (2017), this station is a location for the drone to pick up and deliver packages, and a point where the drone could change its own battery. The station can be installed on the ground or a rooftop while taking as little as two square meters of space. In contrast, the Zip 2, a drone from the Zipline company, requires an electric catapult to launch. A prototype version of this catapult was made out of “two pole vaults, a ladder and a broomstick” (Lydgate, 2018). At the same time, the Matternet M2 drone can make precision landings with the help of the Matternet Station. From the user point of view, one would only need to scan their package at the station for delivery or scan a QR code at the station where the drone has landed to receive the package. The locations of where the drone could deliver or receive package are limited to the location of the Matternet Station. As compared to the Matternet drone, which only requires the user to scan to deliver or receive packages at the Matternet Station, the Zip 2 requires “a couple of parking spaces” for its package to land safely shortly after a message is sent to the receiver (Lydgate, 2018). This amount of space would be an issue if the package is needed in the city, where space is limited.

Another unique feature of the Matternet drone is its cloud software, the Matternet Cloud.  The use of the cloud system allows the drones to communicate with other Matternet drones and the Matternet station, and it helps to build flight paths for the drone to follow (Hivemq, n.d.). With the help of the cloud, the drones are also able to communicate with operators while in flight (Hivemq, n.d.). This is much more reliable as compared to the Zip 2 that relies on GPS signals and drone to drone communication. At the same time, the Zip 2 flight plans are stored in SIM cards on-board the drone which would not allow operators to interact with the drones in flight (Anthony, 2018).

The unique features offered by the Matternet compact M2 Quadcopter help reduce human interaction and save delivery time and cost. Hence, integrating the drone with the Matternet Station and the Matternet Cloud allows for a more seamless aerial delivery.

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References:

Adams, E. (2019). UPS drones are now moving blood samples over North Carolina. Wired. Retrieved September 22, 2019, from https://www.wired.com/story/ups-matternet-drone-delivery-north-carolina/

Matternet. (n.d.-a). Retrieved September 26, 2019, from https://mttr.net/product 

Post. (2017). In action of public health: Matternet M2 [Fact Sheet]. Retrieved September 26, 2019, from https://www.post.ch › ueber-uns › drohnen ›spezifikationen-matternet-m2.pdf 

Matternet. (n.d.-b). Retrieved September 27, 2019, from  https://mttr.net/company 

Matternet. (2017). Matternet unveils the Matternet Station [Press Release].

Retrieved October 2, 2019, from https://mttr.net/images/Matternet_Press_Release_09.20.2017.pdf 

Lydgate, A. (2018). How Zipline helps remote regions get blood from a drone. Wired.

Retrieved October 2, 2019, from https://www.wired.com/story/wired25-anne-wojcicki-keller-rinaudo-zipline-medical-drones/#targetText=The%20Zip%201%20had%20a,can%20still%20fly%20it%20home.&targetText=Zipline%20doesn't%20so%20much,string%20them%20up%20like%20pheasants. 

Hivemq. (n.d). Retrieved October 2, 2019, from https://www.hivemq.com/case-studies/matternet/


Updated as of 28 November 2019