Ehang wants drones to deliver organs to medical patients

China company Ehang got a fair bit of attention at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year by unveiling a drone that could carry a person as far as 10 miles. Regulations barring people from flying in drones made this feat moot, but Ehang now has a grander plan to reveal. The company reportedly wants to build a network of drones that can deliver pig organs to human patients in hospitals and other medical facilities.

Ehang said it has a deal in place to produce 1,000 autonomous drones that will be stationed near organ manufacturing facilities. This helps get the organs to patients “within their post-production window of viability,” according to Lung Biotechnology, the United Therapeutics subsidiary with which Ehang is working.

Ehang gives itself a 15-year time frame, but it plans to launch this service in the US, which means the company needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Food and Drug Administration. The timespan might seem generous, but regulatory change and FDA’s green light can take years. Ehang has once again proven it can dream big but the company does not have a clear path to making those dreams a reality.

Fortunately for Ehang, it is not the only group working on autonomous drone delivery. The pig organs add a layer of complexity as they require FDA approval, but companies such as Amazon and Walmart have already been investing in this technology and pushing for a regulatory framework that would allow them to realize a future full of flying robot couriers. However this works out for Ehang, autonomous technology is becoming an increasingly indispensable part of aerial drones.