Flying salvation: a network of aerial drones for first aid
The statistics released by the WHO tell us that of the millions of cases of fatal cardiac arrest occurring outside of hospital facilities, more than a third could be tackled: the timely arrival of an ambulance, the use of a defibrillator and lots and lots of speed (6 minutes is the window of time needed to save the patient). Many cities around the world do not have the capacity to act in time and lack the necessary organization. This results in genocide: hundreds of thousands ... Read all
The statistics released by the WHO tell us that of the millions of cases of fatal cardiac arrest occurring outside of hospital facilities, more than a third could be tackled: the timely arrival of an ambulance, the use of a defibrillator and lots and lots of speed (6 minutes is the window of time needed to save the patient). Many cities around the world do not have the capacity to act in time and lack the necessary organization. This translates into genocide: hundreds of thousands of deaths every year.
[highlight] How to deal with this situation? [/ highlight] Standard reaction: invest a lot of money in a better fleet of ambulances and emergency vehicles, development of a widespread network of call centers and so on. Stefan Riegebauer, Austrian researcher, thinks differently: for him the winning idea would be to build a rescue network made up of aerial drones capable of bringing help (and life-saving equipment) to the scene more quickly.
[highlight]How does the idea work?[/highlight] You create a mobile app, something you can always carry with you: you sign up, creating a mobile community. A network of drones equipped with defibrillators is placed on the roofs of buildings, united by a wireless system and a group of sensors. When someone is in danger, they can launch their SOS from the app (or maybe someone who is next to them can do it). The closest drone receives the task and flies to the accident site, carrying the first aid kit by air, without ambulances or traffic or sirens, in less than 3 minutes, reducing deaths due to late rescue.
Simple, right? At least in perspective, even if today we need to work on: Riegebauer has built a static prototype (which seems a little naive): a team at MIT has just presented an automatic drone capable of flying at 35km per hour in very narrow spaces. It would be great. “Automated systems are becoming more and more popular,” says Stefan. “Why not use them for these emergencies?”.
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Already. Why?
[Youtube] yy89vxX088Q [/ youtube]
Gianluca Riccio, creative director of Melancia adv, copywriter and journalist. He is part of the Italian Institute for the Future, World Future Society and H+. Since 2006 he has directed Futuroprossimo.it, the Italian Futurology resource. He is a partner of Forwardto-Studies and skills for future scenarios. Follow him on LinkedIn
