TRALLA: Transport of Light Loads over Large Areas

Important results from the project

The vision is to create overall solutions for the routine healthcare visits (and in the long term also other needs) done remotely via today´s health/community rooms in rural areas in Västerbotten County. The gains from these services are partially lost if, for example, medicines and samples have to be collected and left tens of kilometers away. Within the project TRALLA - transport of light goods long distances, a prototype has been developed in the form of a UAV/drone for resource efficient and fast delivery between the health/community rooms and the nearest town.

Expected long term effects

The design consists of few, well-protected, moving parts with the possibility of both vertical and horizontal flight. At current scale, the prototype achieves a speed of 150km/h and payload of about 1.5kg. In a next step, continued development and adaptation of solutions for unique local conditions are required, as well as permits and financing of further testing activities. The relevance and innovation level of the project is reflected by the various related initiatives that are under development worldwide.

Approach and implementation

The composition of project partners was seemingly clearly divided between a need owner, research partner and technology supplier. In practice, however, it was different where, in true spirit of innovation, all parties were contributors to the different work packages. The biggest challenge during the relatively short project period was to explore different requirements while at the same time informing and updating the prototype development. In the end, however, it contributed to a much more well suited result compared to initial designs and assumptions at the time of application.