Emergency Drones
Drone technology could have a future in emergency response
Some first responders are already using drones to help make their work safer and more efficient.
Connect RSS Twitter Facebook LinkedinLife has become automated in a lot of ways. Cashiers have been replaced with self-checkouts and we’re not surprised when we get home to find our Roomba has vacuumed the floors. With companies worldwide developing various types of drones for different purposes, a future with drones replacing first responders isn’t as far-fetched as one would think. One day we could be calling for drones during an emergency instead of calling 911.
Drones are already being used in emergency settings with first responders. Last year, an RCMP officer used a quadcopter with an infrared camera to find an injured person after his car flipped over in the snow in Saskatchewan. In North Dakota, police used drones to check on flooded farms. The Mesa County Sheriff's office in Colorado regularly sends their camera-equipped Draganflyer X6 on missions. The flying robots have helped locate missing people and assisted firefighters by surveying burning buildings.
The idea is, why not send unmanned robots into high-risk or remote emergency situations first to avoid putting first responders at risk while helping victims more efficiently?
We can’t all fly freely
Federal regulations sometimes keep innovations like these grounded. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration needs to research drone prototypes alongside airplane regulations in order to legally allow drones to fly in the U.S. The Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) group is chomping at the bit to get its drones in the air, but without FAA approval their flying robots won’t be going anywhere.
Starting small
If drones as first responders have too many barriers to clear at this time, there is some headway being made in Germany. An idea that stemmed from an Austrian student to develop a defibrillator-carrying drone has been taken up by German company Definetz, which designed a drone prototype to reach remote areas where a defibrillator isn’t readily available. The drone can be manned using a smartphone and a witness to a heart-attack related incident. Once activated, the drone zooms over to the victim and witness’ location using GPS data and drops the defibrillator for use.
Why first responders?
Supporters say innovations like these can potentially save thousands of lives, as the survival time after a heart attack is six minutes, while most emergency service providers have around eight minutes as a target response time after being dispatched. Although this prototype isn’t yet “officially flying,” perhaps airborne defibrillators are a stepping stone to a potentially drone-driven emergency services sector.
According to Benjamin Miller, director of Mesa County, Colorado’s unmanned aircraft program, drones can also help save money and allow emergency responders to be more efficient. When looking toward a future with robots helping first responders, it’s clear the technology could save money, time and resources, but more importantly drones could help save lives.
Connect RSS Twitter Facebook LinkedinLife has become automated in a lot of ways. Cashiers have been replaced with self-checkouts and we’re not surprised when we get home to find our Roomba has vacuumed the floors. With companies worldwide developing various types of drones for different purposes, a future with drones replacing first responders isn’t as far-fetched as one would think. One day we could be calling for drones during an emergency instead of calling 911.
Drones are already being used in emergency settings with first responders. Last year, an RCMP officer used a quadcopter with an infrared camera to find an injured person after his car flipped over in the snow in Saskatchewan. In North Dakota, police used drones to check on flooded farms. The Mesa County Sheriff's office in Colorado regularly sends their camera-equipped Draganflyer X6 on missions. The flying robots have helped locate missing people and assisted firefighters by surveying burning buildings.
The idea is, why not send unmanned robots into high-risk or remote emergency situations first to avoid putting first responders at risk while helping victims more efficiently?
We can’t all fly freely
Federal regulations sometimes keep innovations like these grounded. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration needs to research drone prototypes alongside airplane regulations in order to legally allow drones to fly in the U.S. The Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) group is chomping at the bit to get its drones in the air, but without FAA approval their flying robots won’t be going anywhere.
Starting small
If drones as first responders have too many barriers to clear at this time, there is some headway being made in Germany. An idea that stemmed from an Austrian student to develop a defibrillator-carrying drone has been taken up by German company Definetz, which designed a drone prototype to reach remote areas where a defibrillator isn’t readily available. The drone can be manned using a smartphone and a witness to a heart-attack related incident. Once activated, the drone zooms over to the victim and witness’ location using GPS data and drops the defibrillator for use.
Why first responders?
Supporters say innovations like these can potentially save thousands of lives, as the survival time after a heart attack is six minutes, while most emergency service providers have around eight minutes as a target response time after being dispatched. Although this prototype isn’t yet “officially flying,” perhaps airborne defibrillators are a stepping stone to a potentially drone-driven emergency services sector.
According to Benjamin Miller, director of Mesa County, Colorado’s unmanned aircraft program, drones can also help save money and allow emergency responders to be more efficient. When looking toward a future with robots helping first responders, it’s clear the technology could save money, time and resources, but more importantly drones could help save lives.
