In the future, drone taxis may deliver manufactured organs to hospitals

By Kelly Hodgkins Published May 4, 2016

Earlier this year, Chinese UAV company Ehang unveiled their 184 drone, the world’s first autonomous flying taxi designed to transport people from one location to another. Today, biotech leader United Therapeutics announced it was partnering with Ehang to adapt the 184 drone for the transportation of organs instead of passengers. This new system would be called MOTH, short for Manufactured Organ Transport Helicopter system (MOTH). The proposed organ taxi plan is ambitious, but if Lung Biotechnology can pull it off, it has the potential to change the organ donor market in the US.

Lung Biotechnology, a subsidiary of United Therapeutics, is known for its lung manufacturing technology, which it developed to help patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension and other end-stage lung diseases. The list of critically ill patients requiring a lung transplant to live is very long, while the supply of available organs from donors is extremely scarce. To help meet this need, Lung Biotechnology has developed methods of creating lungs and other organs using stem cells and xenotransplantation techniques.

Recommended Videos

To get its manufactured organs to patients, Lung Biotechnology wants to use Ehang’s 184 drones. The company hopes to station these MOTH rotorcraft at its manufacturing facilities, making them available for the immediate transport of recently produced biomaterial. Once loaded with the organ samples, each drone can be preprogrammed to fly to a nearby hospital that can use the organ for transplant. This fast and efficient transport is essential as it allows Lung Biotchnology to provide hospitals with viable organs precisely when they are needed. “We anticipate delivering hundreds of organs a day, which means that the MOTH system will help save not only tens of thousands of lives but also many millions of gallons of aviation transport gasoline annually,” said Lung Biotechnology Chairman and CEO Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D.

Lung Biotechnology is optimistic that the company will receive the necessary permissions to begin its MOTH operation. These certifications include the approval of the MOTH rotorcraft by the Federal Aviation Administration and approval of the company’s xenotransplantation organ products by the Food and Drug Administration.

Topics

Contributor

Kelly's been writing online for ten years, working at Gizmodo, TUAW, and BGR among others. Living near the White Mountains of…

Cars

Waymo faces questions about its use of onboard cameras for AI training, ads targeting

Two people exit a Waymo taxi.

In an iconic scene from the 2002 sci-fi film Minority Report, on-the-run Agent John Anderton, played by Tom Cruise, struggles to walk through a mall as he’s targeted by a multitude of personalized ads from the likes of Lexus, Guinness and American Express, everytime hidden detectors identify his eyes.
It was clearly meant as a warning about a not-so-desirable dystopian future.
Yet, 23 years later that future is at least partlially here in the online world and threatens to spread to other areas of daily life which are increasingly ‘connected’, such as the inside of cars. And the new testing grounds, according to online security researcher Jane Manchun Wong, might very well be automated-driving vehicles, such as Waymo’s robotaxis.
On X, Wong unveiled an unreleased version of Waymo’s privacy policy that suggests the California-based company is preparing to use data from its robotaxis, including interior cameras, to train generative AI models and to offer targetted ads.
“Waymo may share data to improve and analyze its functionality and to tailor products, services, ads, and offers to your interests,” the Waymo’s unreleased privacy statement reads. “You can opt out of sharing your information with third parties, unless it’s necessary to the functioning of the service.”
Asked for comments about the unreleased app update, Waymo told The Verge that it contained “placeholder text that doesn’t accurately reflect the feature’s purpose”.
Waymo’s AI-models “are not designed to use this data to identify individual people, and there are no plans to use this data for targeted ads,” spokesperson Julia Ilina said.
Waymo’s robotaxis, which are operating on the streets of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin, do contain onboard cameras that monitor riders. But Ilina says these are mainly used to train AI models for safety, finding lost items, check that in-car rules are followed, and to improve the service.
The new feature is still under development and offers riders an opportunity to opt out of data collection, Ilina says.
But as we all get used to ads targeting based on everything that’s somehow connected to the web, it seems a once-distant vision of the future may be just around the corner.

Cars

Buy Now, Upgrade Later: Slate’s $25K Truck Flips the Script on EVs

many hybrids rank as most reliable of all vehicles evs progress consumer reports cr tout cars 0224

A new electric vehicle startup—quietly backed by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos—is building something bold in Michigan. Not just a car, but a whole new idea of what an EV company can be. Slate Auto is a stealthy new automaker with one mission: ditch the luxury-first EV playbook and start from the affordable —which most drivers actually seek.
The start-up has been operating out of public sight since 2022, until TechCrunch found out about its existence. Of course, creating a little mystery about a potentially game-changing concept is a well-tested marketing approach.
But Slate truly seems to approach EVs in a very different way than most: It isn’t debuting with a six-figure spaceship-on-wheels. Instead, it's targeting the holy grail of EV dreams: a two-seat electric pickup truck for just $25,000. Yep, twenty-five grand. That’s less than a tricked-out golf cart in some neighborhoods. Slate is flipping the Tesla model on its head. Tesla, but also the likes of Lucid, BMW, and to a certain degree, Rivian, all started with high-end vehicles to build brand and bankroll future affordable car. But Slate wants to start with the people’s pickup—and letting it grow with you.
This isn’t just a cheap car. It’s a modular, upgradeable EV that’s meant to be personalized over time. Buy the basic model now, then add performance, tech, or lifestyle upgrades later—kind of like building your own dream ride one paycheck at a time. It’s a DIY car for a generation raised on customization and subscriptions. The company even trademarked the phrase: “We built it. You make it.”
Backing up this idea is an equally bold strategy: selling accessories, apparel, and utility add-ons à la Harley-Davidson and Jeep’s MoPar division. You’re not just buying a vehicle; you’re buying into a lifestyle. Think affordable EV meets open-source car culture.
Slate's approach isn't just novel—it's almost rebellious. At a time when other startups risk folding under the weight of their own lofty ambitions, Slate is keeping things lean, scalable, and customer focused. The company reportedly plans to source major components like battery packs and motors from outside suppliers, keeping manufacturing costs low while focusing energy on design, experience, and upgrade paths.
Sure, it’s all been kept under wraps—until now. With plans to begin production near Indianapolis by next year, the wraps are about to come off this EV underdog.
While, at least in spirit, the U.S. market has been dominated by high-end EVs, Slate’s “start small, scale with you” philosophy might be just the jolt the industry needs.

Cars

Kia EV9 and EV6 now fully qualify for the $7,500 tax credit – except for one trim

Kia EV 9

As Kia reported record first-quarter sales, Eric Watson, Kia America VP of sales, made a point of painting a rosy picture for the future: Now that the latest versions of its two best-selling electric vehicles, the EV9 and the EV6, are in full-scale production at Kia’s plant in Georgia, the road is paved for further sales growth.
After all, when Kia announced it was switching production of the EV9 to the U.S. from South Korea in 2023, it largely based its decision on its EVs being eligible for the $7,500 tax credit on new EV purchases offered under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
But the EV9’s battery still came from South Korea and China, which meant it would only receive a partial tax credit of $3,750. Starting this year, the EV9 can qualify for the full $7,500 credit, as Kia switched the sourcing of its battery to its Georgia plant.
As for the EV6, 2025 marks the first time its production takes place stateside, and most of its trims have also become eligible for the full tax credit.
However, there are notable exceptions: Both the EV6 and EV9 GT trims, which are known for providing more horsepower - ie, being faster – and offering a “more aggressive styling and accents”, won’t qualify at all for the tax credit: That’s because production for those vehicles remains based in South Korea, according to CarsDirect, which cited a Kia bulletin to its dealers.
The full credit should still be available for those who lease the vehicles, as leasing does not have the same sourcing requirements under the IRA.
Another big unknown for the GT trims is whether the U.S.’ 25% tariffs on all imported vehicles will again be applied. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump paused most tariffs announced in early April for 90 days.
While prices for the new EV6 and EV9 have yet to be revealed, the combination of the tariffs and the inegibility for the tax credit could seriously dent the appeal of the GT trims.