Surveillance drones will be first on the accident or fire site after research project concludes in Western Sweden
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Starting this fall, remote controlled drones will be first on site to perform a situational report during emergency responses, Swedish Television reports.
The Västra Götaland (Gothenburg) region, has conducted a research project on this topic, hopes. The autonomous drones are intended to assist rescue services and ambulances by providing rapid situational images of accident scenes.
The fire services in the region already uses autonomous drones to deliver defibrillators in response to cardiac arrest alarms, a method that has proven beneficial as the drones often arrive before ambulance personnel.
During a research project, the potential application of autonomous drones in various emergency situations was tested. The results of these tests are now in for review.
First on the Scene Nine Times Out of Ten
Over four months, the region dispatched drones equipped with cameras to emergencies involving fires, traffic accidents, and cardiac arrests.
In 90% of cases where drones were deployed, drones were the first to arrive at the scene and were able to transmit visual material to the emergency call center.
"This will hopefully provide value by giving an overview or situational image of an incident at a stage where this was not previously available. Currently, decisions are based on information that is heard, but now there is an opportunity to also see," says Magnus Kristiansson, a doctoral candidate at the Cardiac Arrest Center at the Karolinska Institute and also the Innovation Leader at the Västra Götaland regional fire services.
Arriving Several Minutes Earlier
The median time for the drone to arrive was 3 minutes and 49 seconds, while it took 5 minutes and 51 seconds for emergency personnel to reach the scene. The broader implementation of autonomous drones is expected to save more lives.
Need for New Regulations
Out of a total of 440 emergency responses during the test period, drones were dispatched in only 59 cases. This was largely due to poor weather conditions or closed airspace for drones.
In 234 of the emergency responses during the test period, the airspace was closed. According to Magnus Kristiansson, this is something that needs to be reviewed.
"This shows that we need to establish a functional infrastructure and regulations for drones in Sweden," he says.