Flirtey delivers drugs by drone from ship to shore in New Jersey

The Jersey Shore is finally famous for something besides fake tanning.

A Reno, Nevada-based startup called Flirtey Inc. conducted the first domestic “ship to shore” drone delivery this week along the New Jersey coastline. The company’s proprietary drone is a six-rotor system constructed from carbon fiber, aluminum and 3-d printed components.

No, they weren’t delivering Domino’s pizzas or anything for Amazon Prime. The company was demonstrating its ability to deliver medical supplies and samples by drone from a barge on choppy waters, to an onshore medical camp.

Specifically, on the first leg of the trip, Johns Hopkins pathologists who were collaborating with Flirtey, loaded up the delivery drone with stool, blood and urine samples, which were delivered from land to a medical testing facility on the barge.

On the second leg of its trip, researchers on the barge sent water purification tablets, insulin and a First Aid kit back to shore.

The hope is that one day, private sector drone delivery services like Flirtey and government agencies will be able to use drones to transport crucial life-saving supplies to places where people are stranded, but damaged roads or lack of roads will not allow ground delivery and it wouldn’t be safe for a ship to dock or for a pilot to land.

Geographically, Flirtey’s drone took off from a barge in New Jersey’s Delaware Bay, and flew across the Cape May Canal to drop off its precious cargo at the Cape May-Lewes Ferry Terminal. The flight was FAA-approved.