Currently the Democratic Republic of the Congo faces some of the worst vaccination rates in the world. The combination of a corrupt government and the inaccessibility of the capital city Kinshasa from the rest of the country due to poor road conditions means that a vast number of the country's population remain cut off from the health services available in the country. This is a problem that my design team and I were tasked with exploring and providing a possible solution to.

The team started by exploring both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Pharmaceutical cold chain system of transportation. Through this research we found the many holes in the system. We identified a number of design challenges and obstacles to overcome in order to solve this issue including issues relating to temperature and security.

After exploring many opens ranging from portable refrigeration units to self sustaining containers to refrigerated backpacks the team came up with the idea of partnering with Zipline. A company that specializes in the transportation of medical supplies using autonomous drones although they lack the ability to transport cold chain packages the team felt this is a task we could overcome.  

This is where the team came up with the AeroCare Esky (ACE for short). The Zipline drones rely on a small compartment to transport their goods. This restricts the designed solution to a very small size therefor removing any possibility for a refrigeration unit. The design team chose to use a pressurized alkanes to cool the contents and keep them at sub-zero temperatures. The design allows the alkanes to be released and blown over the goods allowing for an endothermic reaction the take place.  

The package is designed to be environmentally friendly, biodegradable and, stackable. The system for transport around the world and within the Zipline organization remains the same. This solution is designed to be integrated within the existing system of medical goods transportation within the Zipline organization.