Our group is working on a joint project with UConn Electrical and Computer Engineering, UConn Mechanical Engineering, and Aquiline Drones to produce a container to carry medical samples, blood bags, and even organs for transplantation. To speed up the current logistics network for the transportation of medical cargo, this container – the SMARTBox – will be carried by autonomous drones to the receiving party.

An onboard sensor network will be developed and stored within the box to enable monitoring, adequate payload cooling, and security features like a lock and alarm. The box will communicate between an onboard microcontroller and the AD Cloud, a platform for AD customers to monitor the status of the drone and its payload with vitals and a video feed of the cargo.