Dutch engineering student invents ambulance drone
By Zoe Neilson
A prototype for an "ambulance drone" has been developed by Alec Momont, a Dutch engineering student at Delft University of Technology.
Specifically designed to save heart attack victims, the drone - painted in the style of the emergency services - moves with the help of six propellers and GPS. With a weight threshold of four kilograms, the drone is able to carry a defibrillator.
The design’s strength is the rapidity with which it can reach victims of cardiac arrest. Whilst it takes on average 10 minutes for the emergency services to reach an individual, the drone has the potential (within a 12 square kilometre radius) to make it in just one minute.
Once at the site, an on-board camera connects to a paramedic-style operator, who guides those at the scene through the correct procedure.
The 23 year-old student’s design has caught the attention of the international media, as well as that of the emergency services in the Netherlands.
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Zoe Neilson