These Vaccine-Laced M&Ms are Delivered With Drone Technology
Hayley McGlone — July 14, 2016 — Tech
The US Fish and Wildlife Service is using drone technology to drop vaccine-laced M&Ms in Montana. The vaccine will protect Black-footed ferrets and prairie dogs in the UL Bend National Refuge against the sylvatic plague.
Utilizing drones to deliver the vaccine-laced M&Ms is the least detrimental to the environment and is the most efficient way. Compared to dropping the candies on foot, the drone can drop candies at a rate 10 times faster than a human could. To ensure that the prairie dogs and ferrets eat the vaccine, the M&M is covered in vaccine-laden peanut butter.
While this is not the first time that vaccinated food is being planted in the wild to save an animal population, it is the first time it is being accomplished by drone technology.
Utilizing drones to deliver the vaccine-laced M&Ms is the least detrimental to the environment and is the most efficient way. Compared to dropping the candies on foot, the drone can drop candies at a rate 10 times faster than a human could. To ensure that the prairie dogs and ferrets eat the vaccine, the M&M is covered in vaccine-laden peanut butter.
While this is not the first time that vaccinated food is being planted in the wild to save an animal population, it is the first time it is being accomplished by drone technology.
Trend Themes
1. Drone Delivery - Using drones to deliver vaccine-laced M&Ms provides a disruptive innovation opportunity for the delivery industry.
2. Animal Conservation Technology - Utilizing tech-inspired tools like vaccine-laced M&Ms shows potential for disruptive innovation in the field of animal conservation.
3. Efficient Wildlife Preservation - Developing efficient methods, such as drone delivery of vaccine-laced M&Ms, presents disruptive innovation opportunities in wildlife preservation efforts.
Industry Implications
1. Delivery - The use of drones for delivering vaccine-laced M&Ms could disrupt and revolutionize the delivery industry.
2. Animal Conservation - The application of tech-inspired tools, such as vaccine-laced M&Ms, has the potential to disrupt and enhance the animal conservation industry.
3. Wildlife Preservation - Efficient preservation methods, like using drone technology to distribute vaccine-laced M&Ms, can disrupt and improve the wildlife preservation industry.
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