It started with an aeroplane journey back in 2014. "I knew nothing about drones," says Judith Sherman, the head of HIV for the UN children's fund, Unicef, in Malawi. But as she leafed through an in-flight magazine about pizza deliveries by drone in Mumbai, she had a eureka moment.

A small white drone programmed to go back and forth between hospital labs and rural health clinics in Malawi could drastically cut down on the cost and waiting time of testing African children for HIV.

With its four tiny rotors spinning, a drone is zipping above Malawi's village rooftops this week in the early testing of an experimental high-speed delivery system for HIV diagnosis.

The Government of Malawi and UNICEF started testing the use of UAVs to reduce waiting times for HIV testing.

Every year, the World Economic Forum recognizes leading global technology companies poised to have significant impact on business and society, such as 23andMe, Google, Palantir and Wikipedia. Matternet is now one of the latest recipients of this distinction.

Swiss Post Ltd., Switzerland’s postal service, Swiss WorldCargo, the air freight division of Swiss International Air Lines AG, and California-based drone manufacturer Matternet are testing the practical use of drones in logistics, the companies announced this week.

Switzerland’s postal service has begun testing autonomous flying drones for parcel delivery. Real-world use could come within five to ten years.

In spring 2015, Swiss Post, Swiss WorldCargo (the air freight division of Swiss International Air Lines) and Matternet (a logistics drone manufacturer based in California) joined forces to test the practical use of drones in logistics. The possible areas of application offered by drone technology are very diverse, ranging from delivery to peripheral areas to the express delivery of goods.

Successful Silicon Valley drone startup Matternet doesn’t have the name-brand recognition (or deep pockets) of tech titans like Google (GOOG) or Amazon (AMZN). But while those companies have in recent months dominated the public conversation about using drones, Matternet has quietly deployed its own delivery drone technology in real-world scenarios in some of the world’s hardest-to-reach areas.

That’s right: robots are about to deliver our mail.

The three companies are currently researching the practical uses that drone technology could offer, and the business case to support such a development. The possibilities range from internal logistics to the delivery of consignments over the last mile.

Silicon Valley startup Matternet wants to build the drones and delivery infrastructure to deliver pharmaceuticals and small items in developing countries that lack roads.

Watch the interview on Forbes.

Announcing Matternet ONE, the first smart drone for transportation, which realizes the vision of sending things through the air — magically, with the touch of a button. We believe that Matternet ONE has the power and simplicity to disrupt the last-mile logistics industry, transforming the way we get or give access to things locally.

They still aren’t delivering Amazon packages. But in Haiti, Bhutan, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines, drones have helped rescue natural disaster victims – and transport medical samples and supplies

In the meantime, tech-savvy companies are forging ahead with services that promise to disrupt the parcel delivery industry. “Small flying vehicles will completely change the way we distribute small goods,” says Andreas Raptopoulos

A new report lays out the innovations we could see on our roads in the future

The centuries-old disease is crippling communities in one of the world's most untamed wildernesses. Now unmanned aerial vehicles could bring treatment to the country's far-flung reaches.

When Andreas Raptopoulos and his team got stuck in a 20-truck convoy completely marooned in mud while navigating between villages in Papua New Guinea, it was incredibly frustrating. It was also a validation of his work.

Silicon Valley sweethearts like ride-sharing service Uber are entering the fast-food delivery fray as others like Matternet develop futuristic drones.

MSF and US Company Matternet trialled the use of small quadcopter Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to transport sputum samples of patients with suspected TB from remote health centres to Kerema general hospital for testing as well as possibly transport results and treatments back to the facilities.