Wingcopter Awarded as Technology Pioneer by World Economic Forum
- The World Economic Forum announced its selection of 100 of the most promising Technology Pioneers of 2020, who are shaping industries from agriculture to healthcare while also working on sustainability and humanitarian challenges.
- Wingcopter, a German drone manufacturer, made it to the selection for its contributions in providing hard-to-reach communities with essential and life-saving healthcare supplies.
- Wingcopter is also using their unmanned technology to support COVID-19 responses.
- The full list of recognized Technology Pioneers can be viewed here.
Darmstadt, 16 June, 2020 – Wingcopter, a leading German drone company that develops autonomous delivery drones for commercial and humanitarian applications, was selected out of hundreds of candidates as one of the World Economic Forum’s latest “Technology Pioneers”. Dedicated to improving the lives of people worldwide, Wingcopter has been engaged in numerous drone delivery projects – from commercial, long-range factory-to-factory deliveries in Germany to life-saving humanitarian projects and emergency medical supply in various countries around the world.
In the South Pacific island state of Vanuatu, the start-up set up a drone-based on-demand supply network, delivering vaccines for children within minutes to 19 remote health clinics on behalf of the local Ministry of Health and supported by UNICEF. In Tanzania and Malawi, Wingcopter was able to prove that drone delivery can shorten patients’ waiting times, especially for urgently needed medicines, from several hours or even days to a few minutes. Recently, Wingcopter successfully completed a COVID-19 response trial together with Skyports and Thales on behalf of the NHS Scotland to provide the Isle of Mull with faster corona testing by transporting test kits and samples back and forth from the mainland. Further COVID-19 projects with partners and customers in other European countries are being prepared.
The core innovation behind the company’s highly efficient electric delivery drones is the patented tilt-rotor mechanism, which enables a seamless transition between two drone modes within seconds: multicopter for vertical take-off and landing and fixed-wing for fast and quiet long-range forward flight. Thanks to a proprietary winch mechanism the drones can safely and accurately lower the cargo at the point of destination without the need for any landing infrastructure.
The World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers are early to growth-stage companies from around the world that are involved in the design, development and deployment of new technologies and innovations, and are poised to have a significant impact on business and society. The exclusive Technology Pioneers community is an integral part of the larger Global Innovators community of start-ups at the World Economic Forum.
Following its selection as a Technology Pioneer, Tom Plümmer, Co-founder & CEO of Wingcopter, will be invited to participate at World Economic Forum activities, events and discussions throughout the year. Wingcopter will also contribute to Forum initiatives over the next two years, working with policymakers and private sector leaders to help define the global agenda on key issues.
“Being acknowledged as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, one of the world’s most influential institutions, is an immense honor for us. It recognizes that our technology is already disrupting traditional industries and at the same time has the power to improve the lives of millions of people”, said Tom Plümmer. “It also proves that you can focus on having a positive social impact while still being commercially successful. We look forward to a fruitful exchange with the Forum’s members and the other Tech Pioneers to jointly address some of the world’s biggest challenges.”
This year’s cohort selection marks the 20th anniversary of the Tech Pioneers community. Throughout its 20-year run, many Technology Pioneers have continuously contributed to advancement in their industries while some have even gone on to become household names. Past recipients include Google, Spotify, Kickstarter, Mozilla, Airbnb, Palantir Technologies, TransferWise, Twitter and Wikimedia.
2020 Tech Pioneer firms are shaping the future by advancing technologies such as AI, IoT, robotics, blockchain, biotechnology and many more. The diversity of these companies extends to their leadership as well, as over 25% of 2020 Tech Pioneers are female led. The firms also come from regions all around the world, extending their community far beyond Silicon Valley. The full list of Technology Pioneers can be found here.
Technology Pioneers have been selected based on the community’s selection criteria, which include innovation, impact and leadership as well as the company’s relevance with the World Economic Forum’s Platforms.
All info on this year’s Technology Pioneers can be found here: http://wef.ch/techpioneers20
More information on past winners, information on the community and the application link can be found here.
About Wingcopter: Wingcopter is a leading German manufacturer of industrial-grade unmanned eVTOL aircrafts dedicated to improving the lives of people worldwide through meaningful commercial and humanitarian applications. The start-up focuses on the delivery of medical products, parcels, and food in beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights over long distances.
With its patented tilt-rotor mechanism, Wingcopter drones combine the advantages of multicopters (vertical take-off and landing) and unmanned fixed-wing aircrafts (fast and efficient forward flight), achieving a new dimension of efficiency. They can cover distances of up to 75 miles (120 kilometers) with just one battery charge and hold a Guinness world record for performing a top speed of 150 mph (240 km/h).
Wingcopter is the winner of the emergency delivery category at World Bank-sponsored Lake Kivu Challenge, the German Aviation Innovation Award (IDL), the Digital Logistics Award, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals Spotlight Winner of the global NTT Open Innovation Challenge. Co-founder and CEO Tom Plümmer was featured in the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
Find out more at www.wingcopter.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.
About World Economic Forum: The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. (www.weforum.org).
About the Global Innovators:
The Global Innovators Community is a group of the world’s most promising start-ups and scale-ups that are at the forefront of technological and business model innovation. The World Economic Forum provides the Global Innovators Community with a platform to engage with public- and private-sector leaders and to contribute new solutions to overcome current crises and build future resiliency.
Companies who are invited to become Global Innovators will engage with one or more of the Forum’s Platforms, as relevant, to help define the global agenda on key issues.
