Life-Saving Drones in Your Neighborhood?

March 23, 2016

The day is coming when drones may be medical first-responders.

When a heart attack strikes, every moment kept waiting for treatment can threaten survival. Yet ambulances aren't always just around the corner. For this reason, Dutch engineer Alec Momont has created a flying defibrillator, called the Ambulance Drone, for use in emergency situations.

While the drone is still in the prototype stage, the hope is to have a network of drones stationed around a city. The fast response system can get a defibrillator to a patient in one minute within a seven-mile range. When the drone arrives, those onsite are guided on how to operate the defibrillator through a webcam and speakers that link to remote physicians or other trained personnel.

While leveraging drones to save lives seems like a perfect use of technology, the hitch here is that unmanned aircraft require an operator—they can’t fly completely autonomously around town. But who knows what the future holds for these airborne emergency robots.

About the Author

Stephanie Neil | Editor-in-Chief, OEM Magazine

Stephanie Neil has been reporting on business and technology for over 25 years and was named Editor-in-Chief of OEM magazine in 2018. She began her journalism career as a beat reporter for eWeek, a technology newspaper, later joining Managing Automation, a monthly B2B manufacturing magazine, as senior editor. During that time, Neil was also a correspondent for The Boston Globe, covering local news. She joined PMMI Media Group in 2015 as a senior editor for Automation World and continues to write for both AW and OEM, covering manufacturing news, technology trends, and workforce issues.

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