Jedsy conducts first approved commercial drone flight in Germany

Every day, numerous courier vehicles transport medical samples between hospitals and laboratories, often facing delays due to traffic congestion. "Currently, laboratory samples are collected by car, which can take two to three hours or even longer until the results are available," explains Joost Rohrmann, Managing Director of Blumenburg Clinics, which has locations in Selent, Hamburg, and Freiburg. Using the Jedsy drone, medical transportation becomes not only faster but also more environmentally friendly.

St.Gallen based startup, Jedsy addressed these challenges with Jedsy X, a new drone that can fly up to 120km and dock outside the window, allowing medical staff to load and unload in seconds. The advanced Jedsy X technology ensures deliveries can be made in rainy weather and winds up to 40km/h. Its docking station charges the drone's battery and allows take-off within 60 seconds. Additionally, Jedsy also focuses on safety with redundant systems designed to be fault tolerant. “We have already gained more than 14’000 flights of flying experience” explains Herbert Weirather, the Founder of Jedsy. The company flies daily in Switzerland and in Malawi delivering blood samples and critical medicines.  

Drone transport is not new in Germany, but has met with several large challenges in the past. Some large transport companies have already carried out test flights, but the projects were usually discontinued. Three people were often involved in each flight: one person each for the start and the landing, as well as the operator. There were also complex checklists and packages, which often increased the preparation time to more than 20 minutes. With the docking station from Jedsy, these challenges belong to the past as the drone is automatically charged and secured, ready 24/7.

Jedsy is also one of the few drone companies to have obtained the SAIL 3 certification, allowing operations over densely populated areas while ensuring compliance with strict safety and operational standards for drone transport in complex environments. According to a report by the NDR television channel, it took two years of discussions with the Federal Aviation Office, state authorities and nature conservation organisations before the route was approved by all sides. The certification highlights Jedsy's commitment to safe, efficient, and scalable drone delivery solutions. The latest collaboration with the Asklepios Group therefore marks the first commercial and approved drone flight for the startup in Germany.

Asklepios aims to implement drone flights on a large scale

With over 170 locations, Asklepios aims to implement Jedsy’s transport system on a large scale to connect as many locations as possible. This will enable faster and more efficient patient care. In the initial phase, Jedsy X will operate between Asklepios Privatklinik Blomenburg in Selent and Asklepios Klinikum Bad Oldesloe, covering a distance of 60 km and passing through both densely and sparsely populated regions.

Joost Rohrmann adds: "We are very pleased to have found a well-established and strong partner in this emerging industry with Jedsy. The advantage for our patients is that Jedsy enables faster and more direct delivery of blood samples, significantly improving medical care. With Jedsy, results can be obtained within an hour, allowing doctors to react more quickly while also reducing our ecological footprint by eliminating the need for car transport."

(Press release/RAN)
Image: Jedsy