Technology
A drone raced an ambulance to deliver medical supplies and won
In a drone vs. ambulance showdown, first aid supplies get to patients faster when flown rather than driven through surface streets, sirens wailing.
That’s what researchers from Iraq and Australia found during test scenarios with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional remote-controlled drone pitted against a human-driven ambulance vehicle in a busy Iraqi city.
In four tests, the drone raced an ambulance from a hospital in Erbil, Iraq, to crowded neighborhoods near schools and markets with narrow streets. Each delivery method was timed to see how long it took to get the first aid kit to “patients.”
The results from the team — comprised of people from Middle Technical University in Baghdad, University of Mosul, University of South Australia, and the Defence Science and Technology Group — were published in July in the Sensors journal. The findings made it clear that drone transport reduces delivery time and gets there quicker.
The drone arrived 90 seconds and 120 seconds before the ambulance in two different locations during each test run. Crowded roads with obstacles meant an ambulance took 300 seconds compared to the drone’s 210 seconds for one particular drop-off spot. That’s 31 percent time savings when deciding to use one method over the other.
For time-critical scenarios those seconds add up.
-
Entertainment7 days ago
What Robert Durst did: Everything to know ahead of ‘The Jinx: Part 2’
-
Entertainment6 days ago
This nova is on the verge of exploding. You could see it any day now.
-
Business6 days ago
India’s election overshadowed by the rise of online misinformation
-
Business6 days ago
This camera trades pictures for AI poetry
-
Business7 days ago
CesiumAstro claims former exec spilled trade secrets to upstart competitor AnySignal
-
Business5 days ago
TikTok Shop expands its secondhand luxury fashion offering to the UK
-
Business6 days ago
Boston Dynamics unveils a new robot, controversy over MKBHD, and layoffs at Tesla
-
Entertainment6 days ago
Earth will look wildly different in millions of years. Take a look.