{"id":4358,"date":"2011-09-13T19:00:44","date_gmt":"2011-09-14T02:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=4358"},"modified":"2012-09-30T07:49:13","modified_gmt":"2012-09-30T14:49:13","slug":"matters-of-note-for-the-green-flight-expo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/matters-of-note-for-the-green-flight-expo\/","title":{"rendered":"Matters of Note for the Green Flight Expo"},"content":{"rendered":"

One humanitarian business organization <\/a>that will display at the Green Flight Expo following the completion of that seven-day event uses the type of technology the CAFE Foundation espouses for carrying medicines and supplies to remote parts of the third world that otherwise do not easily permit transport of any kind.<\/p>\n

Matternet\u2019s slogan, \u201cLifting the Rising Billion\u201d refers to those living primarily in Africa and is explained in their statement of belief.\u00a0 \u201cBy increasing the access to reliable transportation for people living in poverty, we will enable them to find a sustainable path out of poverty.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will connect people from geographically isolated communities to local and global markets through the Matternet.\u201d\u00a0 This credo applies to poor communities throughout the world, and Matternet is committed to creating airborne supply networks worldwide.<\/p>\n

Mechanisms are simple enough, with quadrotor helicopters<\/a>, much like those used by Stanford Professor Sebastian Thrun <\/a>and his alumni, Nicholas Roy <\/a>(now assistant professor at MIT) in their investigations of autonomous flight and in competitions that require cross-country navigation.<\/p>\n

We normally think of these devices used in military or police hunter\/killer type applications, so the idea that they can be used for\u00a0peaceful purposes is a bit of a leap.\u00a0 With their ability to cover the “last mile” in delivering to remote areas, they become literal life savers.<\/p>\n