DroneCast, the company making a splash in the nascent drone advertising industry, recently launched a kickstarter campaign to crowd-fund a medical response application for drones.
DroneCast’s previous efforts focused on using drones for promotional reasons. The concept of drone advertising received mixed reviews; most people are frustrated with Internet pop-ups, never mind a drone advertisement hovering over their child’s football game.
However, DroneCast recently launched a kickstarter to expand its’ business beyond advertising, and dip into the ways drone can be used to improve emergency efforts. The system aims to create a faster response time for medical emergencies, and if applied properly, could revolutionize our emergency response system.
“Imagine a system where a wearable device such as a watch, heart rate monitor, or even contact lens could detect your emergency before you could. Imagine a system that would alert you to this emergency and activate numerous response units to your exact location, including EMS, a community based response unit, your emergency contacts, and even a medical drone,” DroneCast said on their kickstarter page.
The basic concept would combine several technologies, a watch that would monitor heart rate and detect irregularities, a smart phone application that would notify emergency contacts and notify medical dispatch, and finally a medical drone that would be sent to aid the person immediately. Though the system is currently geared toward cardiac emergencies, there is huge potential for expansion.
While the success of the campaign will depend on FAA regulations and the effectiveness of the combined technology, this application shows promise for how commercial companies can employ drones to aid emergency efforts.
Check out the Kickstarter video below:
Interesting concept, except it seems this team is verging on “need shopping” – trying to fit a new piece of tech to a real (or imagined) need. Also it seems concerning that they would so flagrantly disregard public safety during their first foray – flying over a crowded public venue?
Be wary of companies like this.