Technology

Cleveland Clinic launches prescription drone delivery

Published

3 weeks ago

August 12, 2026

Cleveland Clinic launches prescription drone delivery

Medical drone test aims to speed deliveries for rural patients

A medical drone takes off during testing as part of a program aimed at speeding up the delivery of critical healthcare supplies. The effort is focused on transporting lab samples, blood and donor matching materials between smaller communities and larger hospital hubs, where timing can impact diagnoses and treatment. Developers say faster, on-demand flights could help reduce delays for rural patients, who often face longer travel times for care, with future plans to expand the technology to carry transplant-related materials.

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A trip to the pharmacy can feel like a routine errand on a normal day. When you feel sick or care for someone else, that same trip can become a serious burden. Now, some Cleveland Clinic patients can skip the drive and have eligible prescriptions lowered into their yards by drone.

Cleveland Clinic just announced the launch of its prescription drone delivery program with Zipline. The first successful deliveries took place in and around Beachwood, Ohio.

Cleveland Clinic describes the launch as the first long-term deployment of a prescription drug drone delivery program by a U.S. health system. While other hospitals have tested medical drone services, this program is designed for ongoing delivery to patients’ homes.

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Zipline drones can deliver eligible Cleveland Clinic prescriptions within minutes while remaining hundreds of feet above patients’ homes. (Zipline)

Cleveland Clinic drone delivery starts in and around Beachwood

The service currently covers eligible addresses within five miles of Cleveland Clinic’s Beachwood Administrative Campus. That location serves as the home base for Zipline’s electric drones. Initially, Cleveland Clinic is offering the service to certain patients who already use its pharmacy home delivery program. The pharmacy team will notify eligible patients through their electronic patient portal.

Patients do not have to use a drone. The delivery option is voluntary, and Cleveland Clinic says it will not charge an additional fee. According to Zipline, the program initially covers shelf-stable prescriptions. Controlled substances will not travel by drone at this time.

How prescriptions arrive by Zipline drone

The process begins inside a Cleveland Clinic pharmacy. A pharmacy technician places the packaged medication into a secure Zipline drop box. Next, an autonomous drone retrieves the order and flies to the patient’s address. When the aircraft reaches its destination, it remains as high as 300 feet above the ground. A small delivery pod then descends on a tether. The pod places the prescription at the selected delivery location before rising back to the drone. The aircraft returns to its charging station after completing the delivery.

Since the drone stays in the air, it does not need to land in your yard. You also do not need to clear space for a landing pad. Once a pharmacy order enters the Zipline drop box, it can reach the patient’s home within minutes. According to Zipline, its average flight time is under five minutes.

Patients can follow the delivery through a tracking link in the MyChart messaging portal. Because delivery information arrives through a health portal, be careful with unexpected texts or emails claiming to contain a tracking update. Open the official MyChart app or type the portal address into your browser instead of tapping an unplanned link. CyberGuy’s guide to using health apps and patient portals safely explains why going directly to the official app can help you avoid phishing attempts.

Who can use Cleveland Clinic prescription delivery

For now, eligibility remains narrow. You must live within the initial delivery zone near Beachwood. You must also participate in Cleveland Clinic’s pharmacy home delivery program. Cleveland Clinic patients who are interested in participating should ask their doctor if they are eligible. The Beachwood launch gives the Cleveland Clinic and Zipline a chance to incorporate the experience during regular pharmacy operations.

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Cleveland Clinic patients near Beachwood, Ohio, can now receive eligible prescriptions by Zipline drone, with deliveries lowered by tether into their yards. (Zipline)

Patients can choose where the package lands

Eligible patients can select a delivery location on their property. According to Zipline, that location will typically be in the front yard or backyard. Patients can also schedule delivery for a time when they expect to be home. After the pod places the package on the ground, the patient can collect it without touching the drone or the delivery pod. That setup may help keep a prescription from sitting outside longer than necessary. It also gives patients more control over where the package appears on their property.

How Zipline handles privacy and flight monitoring

Zipline says it does not know what is inside a Cleveland Clinic order. The company receives only the information it needs to complete the delivery and follow healthcare requirements, including package handling or temperature instructions. The drones do not send a live video or image feed to Zipline employees. Instead, trained specialists monitor flights at the fleet level through operational dashboards. Each drone and delivery pod flies autonomously using onboard sensors. Those sensors help the system navigate the airspace and avoid obstacles near the delivery area. Cleveland Clinic and Zipline say they worked together to meet the regulatory and technical requirements for the program.

Zipline has delivered medical products since 2016

While a prescription hovering over an Ohio neighborhood may seem unusual, Zipline has spent years building autonomous medical delivery networks. The company began delivering blood and other medical products in 2016. Today, Zipline says it serves more than 5,000 hospitals and health facilities around the world. It has delivered tens of millions of medical products through its network.

CyberGuy first examined how Zipline planned to deliver medicine and food when the company revealed its Platform 2 system in 2023. That design introduced the tethered pod that can place a package in a precise location while the main aircraft stays overhead. Since then, Zipline has moved further into everyday U.S. delivery. To date, the company reported more than 2.7 million commercial deliveries. Roughly 70% of its flights now take place in the United States. Outside healthcare, Zipline carries restaurant orders and retail products. In parts of Texas, customers can receive drone deliveries from national brands and local businesses.

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Cleveland Clinic says its new drone service gives some patients another way to receive shelf-stable prescriptions without making a pharmacy trip. (Zipline)

Drone delivery can continue through difficult weather

Cleveland Clinic’s program arrives as drone delivery becomes more visible in the U.S. CyberGuy recently covered a drone food delivery pilot in New Jersey. That service also uses a tether to lower orders while the aircraft remains in the air. Food delivery gives companies a way to test flight paths and neighborhood acceptance. Delivering medicine raises the stakes because patients may rely on the package for their care.

According to Zipline, its drones can operate in rain, wind, storms and cold conditions that may slow road traffic. However, weather or another issue could still make a drone flight unavailable. In that situation, Cleveland Clinic would use another delivery option. Zipline says the prescription would typically travel by ground courier instead. According to Cleveland Clinic, each Zipline drone performs more than 500 safety checks per second while flying.

Cleveland Clinic plans to expand medical drone delivery

Prescription medication is the starting point. Over time, Cleveland Clinic plans to add other medications and lab samples. The program may also transport medically tailored meals and medical supplies.

Zipline has already announced its next expansion will be to Austin, Texas. Zipline’s president of U.S. healthcare, Hillary Brendzel, described the immediate benefit in simple terms: “That’s one less errand to run, and more time back in people’s days.” That may sound modest compared with the technology involved. However, saving one pharmacy trip can matter when someone feels ill or cannot easily drive. In fact, in Texas, according to Zipline, its most frequent customers are older adults and busy parents.

Kurt’s key takeaways

What caught my attention here is how ordinary the problem is. People need medicine, but getting to a pharmacy can be difficult when they are already dealing with an illness or mobility problem. Cleveland Clinic and Zipline are using drone technology to remove that errand for some patients. The drone stays above the property while a tethered pod handles the final delivery. Patients can track the order through MyChart without paying an extra fee. The average flight takes under five minutes, according to Zipline. Patients can choose where the package arrives and schedule the delivery for a time when they will be home. If the drone cannot fly, Cleveland Clinic can use a ground courier instead. Zipline also says it does not know what medication is inside the package, and its drones do not provide employees with a live video feed. Those details may reassure patients who have questions about privacy. Still, the launch remains limited to a small area near Beachwood. Only shelf-stable prescriptions qualify at first, and controlled substances are excluded. If this works reliably, prescription delivery could become one of the most meaningful uses for autonomous drones.

Would you trust a drone to deliver medication you depend on, or would you rather keep your prescriptions on the ground? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

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Technology

Alienware’s refurbished 16 Aurora is almost $200 off at Woot

Published

2 hours ago

September 4, 2026

Press Room

Alienware’s refurbished 16 Aurora is almost 0 off at Woot

Gaming laptop deals aren’t what they used to be (stares daggers at RAMageddon), which is why I consider Woot’s deal on a refurbished Alienware 16 Aurora gaming laptop with Nvidia’s RTX 5050 a pretty good deal at $927 for new Woot customers (with code WOOTALIEN used at checkout). It costs $1,029 for returning Woot shoppers, which is a decent discount off the new $1,099.99 price at Alienware’s site. Notably, this refurb unit includes a one-year Alienware warranty.

These days, most configurations with Nvidia’s RTX 5060 GPU sail well over the $1,200 mark, which is just too much if you ask me. If you’re in the market for a relatively speedy and well-designed machine, perhaps this one will be a good fit for your needs and budget. The Aurora has a 1600p 120Hz 16-inch screen, Intel’s capable Core 7 240H processor, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 512GB SSD. Its RTX 5050 GPU likely won’t be able to play most games at max settings, especially at its native 1600p resolution, but you should be able to get respectable frame rates and visual fidelity with some tweaking.

As for its condition, the company says “it’s as close to new as you can get without technically being “new.” The 16 Aurora features two M.2 slots, letting you greatly boost its included 512GB SSD with other drives. It also has two SO-DIMM slots, so you can upgrade the 8GB x 2 (DDR5 5,600MHz) down the line to 16GB x 2 (it tops out at 32GB RAM). If you have other specs you want to dig into, check out Dell’s comprehensive spec sheet within its support site.

Other great Verge-approved deals

Technology

Nvidia will officially bring DLSS 5 to older GPUs — but won’t give gamers full control

Published

13 hours ago

September 4, 2026

Press Room

Nvidia will officially bring DLSS 5 to older GPUs — but won’t give gamers full control

Officially, Nvidia’s controversial DLSS 5 AI rendering was supposed to launch this evening with only a single game, only on Nvidia’s latest RTX 50 GPUs, and with developers in full control of their artistic vision.

But unofficially, modders have already ported a leaked version of DLSS 5 to run on just about anything while cranking sliders to the max. Now, Nvidia is changing its plans. DLSS 5 is still launching first on RTX 50 GPUs, but it’s officially coming to older RTX 40-series GPUs as well, Nvidia spokesperson Rajal Maharaj confirms to The Verge.

“Our current focus is on optimizing performance for the GeForce RTX 50 Series with model updates expected later this fall. Once RTX 50 Series performance is more fully tuned, we plan to work on expanding official support to the GeForce RTX 40 Series,” reads part of Nvidia’s statement.

What about earlier RTX 30 and RTX 20-series GPUs, which modders successfully targeted as well, assuming you count “not exactly playable framerate and plenty of crashes” as successful? “Right now the focus is of course on 50-series,” Maharaj tells me. “Once we feel like the 50-series is in a good place, we’re going to look at the 40-series.”

Now that the cat’s out of the bag, will gamers get full control over DLSS 5’s sliders the way modders already do? Nvidia says no: “For gamers, DLSS 5 is a simple on-or-off toggle,” the company confirms. “The more granular artistic controls are for developers, including model selection, Structure Intensity, Tone Intensity, automatic masking and custom per-pixel masking.”

That said, the company tells me that developers could pass along certain controls in their own settings menus, like they’ve done with other graphics tech. (Early DLSS Super Resolution was also just an on/off toggle, but today’s games let you pick between varying levels of quality or even an exact percentage, depending on the game.)

Assuming you don’t mind DLSS 5, one of the benefits is that it’s easy to integrate. Developers don’t need to tell DLSS 5 which objects are “silverware” and which are “furniture” because the AI models can automatically recognize and isolate objects in a scene, distinguishing between faces, textiles, foliage, and more to apply different amounts of AI processing. Game engines that already know which video game objects are which can help DLSS 5, too:

For more targeted control, semantic AI masking can automatically recognize scene objects, while engine-level masking allows artists to isolate specific props or groups of assets, such as glassware, water droplets or foliage, and apply custom neural lighting adjustments to those elements.

Unreal Engine 5 has a native plugin, and Nvidia also has SDKs.

Nvidia says developers can apply DLSS 5 to their entire game this way, or do it differently for different scenes, cutscenes, or portions of gameplay, and the company tells The Verge that its DLSS 5 models run on every single frame, so there’s no minimum framerate for it to work.

We’re still waiting to find out if the early backlash against DLSS 5 scared away publishers and developers that had originally committed to the technology. Nvidia’s response to us today suggests that perhaps some companies have backed away.

When we asked if the company could re-confirm that it will come to Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Hogwarts Legacy, Starfield, Resident Evil Requiem, and the other 12 originally-announced titles, this was the company’s only reply:

“More games are on the way. Many developers are actively integrating DLSS 5, and we’ll share updates on upcoming titles as partners finalize their integrations.”

Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.

Sean Hollister

Technology

Android Motion Assist could ease car sickness on your phone

Published

13 hours ago

September 4, 2026

Press Room

Android Motion Assist could ease car sickness on your phone

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Ever tried to answer a text from the passenger seat and felt your stomach turn before you reached the second line? For people prone to motion sickness, a phone can go from useful to unbearable fast.

Google is now rolling out a great Android tool designed to make that screen easier to tolerate while the vehicle moves. It is called Motion Assist, and it places animated dots around the edges of your screen that react to the motion of the vehicle.

Apple has offered a similar feature, Vehicle Motion Cues, since iOS 18 arrived in 2024. Google began working on its own version around the same time. It originally appeared under the name Motion Cues before Google renamed it Motion Assist. Now some Pixel owners are starting to see the finished feature on phones running Android 17.

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Google is rolling out Motion Assist, a new Android feature that uses animated screen cues to help reduce motion sickness for passengers using their phones in moving vehicles. (NickyLloyd via Getty Images)

Why looking at your phone can make you feel sick

Your eyes may tell your brain that you are sitting still and staring at a steady screen. Meanwhile, your inner ear can feel the car moving underneath you.

Those mixed signals can trigger motion sickness. The CDC says it can happen when what you see does not match the movement your body feels, which can leave you nauseous or dizzy.

Reading a text or scrolling through your phone can make things worse because your eyes stay focused on a screen that appears still while the car keeps moving.

How Android Motion Assist works

Motion Assist gives your eyes another visual clue. Small shapes appear around the edges of the display while you continue using the app in the middle of the screen.

Your phone uses motion sensors, including its accelerometer and gyroscope, to follow changes in the vehicle. As the car turns or changes speed, the on-screen cues move along with that motion.

The goal is to give your eyes information that lines up more closely with what your body feels. That may reduce the sensory mismatch that can leave you reaching for the window button.

Google’s version also gives you control over the look of the cues with options for shape, size, color and opacity. You can also have Motion Assist activate automatically when your phone detects that you are traveling in a moving vehicle.

Android Motion Assist is rolling out slowly

Here is the frustrating part. You may have Android 17 and still come up empty when you look for Motion Assist. So far, the feature has appeared on select Pixel phones running Android 17. This seems to be a staged rollout rather than a single switch flipped for everyone at once.

The feature appears to arrive through Google Play services rather than through a separate Motion Assist app. Google explains that its system services can deliver new features separately from the main Android operating system update. Google has yet to publish a dedicated Motion Assist support page or a complete list of supported Android phones. So, for now, Android 17 alone may still leave you waiting.

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Android users may soon get a built-in way to make reading or texting in the car more comfortable with Google’s new Motion Assist feature. (Hispanolistic via Getty Images)

How to turn on Motion Assist on Android

If Motion Assist has reached your Pixel, here is where to look:

Open Settings.
Tap your Google profile at the top.
Tap All services.
Scroll down to Personal & device safety.
Tap Motion Assist.
Turn on Start in a moving vehicle if you want Motion Assist to activate automatically when your phone detects that you are riding in a moving vehicle.

You can also add a Motion Assist tile to Quick Settings so you can turn the feature on or off manually.

Motion Assist also lets you customize the color, shape and opacity of the on-screen cues. A Randomization option can automatically vary those settings.

If you do not see Motion Assist, that does not necessarily mean anything is wrong with your phone. Google appears to be rolling out the feature in stages, and it is still missing from some Pixel phones running Android 17.

What to do if Motion Assist is missing

If you do not see Motion Assist on your Pixel, first make sure your phone is up to date. To check for the latest Pixel software, go to Settings > System > Software updates and install any available update.

Then check your Google Play system update. Go to Settings > Security & privacy > System & updates > Google Play system update. Install any available update and restart your phone if prompted.

However, updating your Pixel may not make Motion Assist appear right away. As mentioned above, Google appears to be rolling out the feature gradually. So, if your phone is fully updated and Motion Assist remains missing, you may simply have to wait for Google to enable it on your device.

How to turn on Vehicle Motion Cues on iPhone

If you have an iPhone, Apple already offers its version of the same idea.

Here is how to turn on Vehicle Motion Cues:

Open Settings.
Tap Accessibility.
Tap Motion.
Tap Vehicle Motion Cues.
Choose Automatically in Vehicle if you want your iPhone to turn the feature on when it detects that you are riding in a moving vehicle.

You can also choose On when you want the cues displayed continuously.

Apple lets you customize the pattern and color. You can also change the size or number of dots shown around the screen. Apple says the feature works best when you are seated facing forward. One important safety note: use this as a passenger feature. Apple warns against using Vehicle Motion Cues while operating a moving vehicle.

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Google’s Motion Assist uses your phone’s motion sensors to display moving dots that may help reduce the sensory mismatch linked to motion sickness. (Baona via Getty Images)

Will moving dots really help motion sickness?

The idea may sound almost too simple, but it targets the sensory conflict linked to motion sickness. Still, everyone responds differently. Apple describes Vehicle Motion Cues as a feature that may help reduce motion sickness. Google uses similar language for Motion Assist.

Think of the moving cues as another tool you can try rather than a guaranteed fix. If the screen still makes you feel sick, put the phone down and look toward the horizon. The CDC includes looking at the horizon among its strategies for reducing motion sickness.

Another option is to listen instead of looking at your phone. We have a step-by-step guide showing how to get your phone to read articles aloud on both iPhone and Android at Cyberguy.com.

Why this Android feature is worth checking

A row of moving dots may sound like a tiny phone feature until you are the person who cannot answer a message from the back seat without feeling queasy.

That is what makes Motion Assist interesting. Google is trying to solve a very ordinary problem using sensors already inside your phone. You need no extra app or accessory.

If the feature works for you, a car ride could become a chance to catch up on messages or read something longer without immediately regretting it.

Kurt’s key takeaways

I like phone features that solve an annoyance you feel in everyday life. Motion Assist falls squarely into that category. If you get motion sickness, I would try the automatic setting as soon as it appears on your Pixel. There is very little effort involved, and you will know quickly whether the moving cues help you. iPhone owners already have a similar option hiding in Accessibility. That is also a good reminder to explore those settings from time to time. Some of the most useful features on your phone can sit there unnoticed for months.

Would moving dots on your screen make you more willing to use your phone during a car ride, or would you rather put the phone away completely? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com

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