by Jim Magill, editor of DRONELIFE
Manatee County, Florida, may be the first local government entity in the country to use its 9-1-1 emergency formula to send emergency medical materials through a drone to others who are attacked at the center or other serious medical emergencies.
On September 15, the Manatee County Board of Commissioners approved an initial agreement between the county’s public protection branch and Archer First Response Systems, a subsidiary of Orlando-based Archer UAS, which would install a drone formula, adding a drone. able to carry a medical payload and a floor center. County property arrangement.
According to the agreement, the county first rented Archer’s UAS for one year for $1 according to the month. Most of the prices inconsistent with those in the system will be covered through the Tampa General Hospital of the Florida Center for Health Sciences.
Approval of the contract by the county is the first step in a procedure to identify the 9-1-1 drone submission formula in a small designated operational domain near emS Lakewood Ranch County base in Bradenton. The Federal Aviation Administration has yet to approve Archer’s waiver application for autonomous drones to operate in the county.
“Because this generation is so new, you want FAA approval for autonomous drone service,” Jake Saur, manatee County director of public safety, said at the county board assembly where the vote took place. “A lot of stars want to be aligned” to make this kind of pilot program operational. “
Under the county contract, Archer UAS would pilot a FreeFly Systems Alta X drone, equipped with a medical payload, capable of safely transporting and discarding medical devices to predetermined delivery locations. The UAV would use LTE networks to allow Archer to provide 24/7 proactive surveillance and deployment and permits through the county’s emergency communications center.
The formula will also come with a floor center, which would be located in a pre-selected site at the county EMS base, within a domain surrounded by fences and/or shrubs.
Inside the medical payload tank box, the drone will bring an automatic external defibrillator (DEA) and medical equipment, in addition to Narcan, a drug used to treat opium overdoses, and a tourniquet.
Under the proposed 9-1-1 drone dispatch formula, county 9-1-1 dispatchers will have the utmost discretion over when to activate the Archer formula in the event of a medical emergency. Archer agreed to adapt the formula exclusively for the county-designated policy domain, a domain comprising a domain within five minutes of the drone’s flight from the original drone base. The company said it would examine the target policy domain and identify unobstructed coordinates for its medical payload deliveries.
When the dispatcher turns on the system, it will analyze the location of the medical emergency to the delivery coordinates closest to the victim.
Dispatchers will inform the caller at 9-1-1 about the use of the DEA and other medical devices delivered through the drone, while the caller awaits the arrival of an EMS ambulance, which will be sent at the same time as the UAV.
“This is the long-term of public safety,” Saur said. “If it’s approved through the FAA and we can expand it, the whole country is on the agenda. “
The 9-1-1 drone reaction assignment is the product of a partnership program developed through Archer First Response Systems and Tampa General Hospital, the team said in a statement.
“This one-of-a-kind pilot program is the newest and most cutting-edge program Manatee County has undertaken to improve public protection and our ability to respond well and quickly. With the approval of the County Commission, the allocation has reached a milestone life level “and we will now turn to the FAA for a new circular of reviews and approvals,” the team said.
The High X of the FreeFly formula will come with 4 motors with an uninterrupted maximum force of 17,760 W, carbon fiber reinforced nylon propellers and two Lipo 12S batteries with a peak voltage of 50. 4V. The UAS is 34. 9 kg (about 77 pounds), Archer stated that his drones would operate significantly under this weight. The maximum payload for drones will be 35 pounds (15. 9 kg).
According to his agreement with the county, prior to the release of the formula, Archer will conduct live simulations of UAV flights in reaction to actual calls to the county’s 9-1-1 reaction formula. ” Archer will perform enough live drone simulation flights to provide statistically valid data findings that the use of the Archer formula device can save lives that would not have been saved otherwise,” the contract states.
In addition, Archer has agreed to provide several categories of periodic education for the county and at least provide education within two weeks of system commissioning.
The company will also provide the county with monthly reports on its UAV operations, which will include, but are not limited to, the following information: total number of UAV flights; number of successful UAV flights; number of successful UAV flights; and the reasons for the failure of UAV flights, e. g. weather conditions, obstruction/traffic on the flight path, incorrect medical payload, uns sealed medical payload, loss of battery life.
According to its website, Archer UAS “seeks to improve public fitness and protection by reinventing the way we treat urgent medical emergencies and developing revolutionary technologies that will have a profound effect on our communities.
Founded in 2013 through UAS enthusiast Gordon Folkes, the company developed Archer First Response Systems (AFRS) as a built-in 9-1-1 technology. “High-level assets created to enable AFRS to take off have given a variety of vehicle accommodation, flight and fleet control software, mapping, geographic data systems and other technologies. “9-