Picture yourself out for a swim in the ocean, when all of a sudden a strong undercurrent pulls you in and the next thing you know, you’re fighting for your life. People around you alert the authorities, and from the nearest emergency service center comes a drone to save your life. It hovers over your location and drops a floatation device and transmits a signal pinpointing your location on a GPS. The drone even goes to the extent of explaining to your friends how to perform CPR and other emergency procedures.
This is what we may be looking at in the near future as far as emergency medical protocol is concerned. Google was just recently awarded a patent that allows it to give emergency medical services by utilizing drones. However, not all drones are made the same.
According to USPTO (Google’s US Patent and Trademark Office), some drones are designed to carry audio or video files to provide medical support, whereas others can transport specific objects that help treat a person. These objects include a floatation device, EpiPen, an EKG device, an oxygen therapy system, and a first aid kid.
Google has been putting to test various types of drones that deliver items such as medicine and even candy. This however is the first time that we’ve gotten a peek into what Google intends to do with the drones. Filed in December 2012, the patent allows the internet giant to only provide medical services for now.
While Google truly is an innovator, Amazon hasn’t been far behind in using drones. Amazon was also provided a patent a May to use drones for delivering items. Nonetheless, both companies face major hurdles in the future because the Federal Aviation Administration has set a wide range of regulations that will prevent the unrestricted use of drones.
One thing is for sure, drones are here to stay and we will see them being used in more ways as days go by.
The 1,200 mile long Columbia River could make an excellent drone superhighway for both first responders and commercial traffic:
https://i5bridgecam.wordpress.com/drones/