by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby
This autumn, the city of Sosnowiec in Southern Poland is launching a pilot program transporting AED (Automated External Defibrillators) via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Developed in cooperation with the Metropolis GZM, the city of Sosnowiec, the Łukasiewicz – Institute of Aviation, and the companies Dronehub and Pentacomp, the project aims to gather experience from the use of drone technology in the implementation of tasks for the needs of local government. The plan will oversee over 100 flights, allowing the collection of data on the optimal parameters of flights and the processes of their implementation.
“The project to be implemented in Sosnowiec is another opportunity to confirm the appropriateness of the use of Dronehub drones and docking stations and Pentacomp flight management software,” explains Vadym Melnyk, founder and CEO of Dronehub. “Two of our docking stations will take part in the pilot, each equipped with a Cartesian mechanism, i.e. a robotic loader that will automatically pick up the defibrillator from the compartment in the docking station and place it in the drone. After the drone lands in the second docking station, a similar mechanism located there will pick up the parcel from the drone and place it in a compartment at the destination station.”
On August 25th, the parties signed an agreement to prepare and implement the program. The project will be the first of its kind in Poland.
“Thanks to the use of drones in rescue, we significantly shorten the time of delivering the necessary medical equipment,” Melnyk adds. “The drone moves in a straight line, does not get stuck in traffic jams, does not wander, does not need time to get ready for action like a team of rescuers. And time is absolutely crucial in saving people’s lives and health. The Dronehub and Pentacomp systems also enable the transport of other urgent medical shipments, such as blood samples.”
The coordinator of the task, Metropolis GZM (Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia), will evaluate the flights, carried out by Dronehub – which will provide drones and docking stations – together with Pentacomp – responsible for the software. Substantive and formal support, including contact with the Civil Aviation Authority and the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, will be provided by the Łukasiewicz – Institute of Aviation.
“We are happy to be able to participate in such an innovative project,” says Anna Mazur, Chief Engineer at the UAV Certification Unit from the Łukasiewicz – Institute of Aviation. “We are sure that the success that we will achieve with our partners in Sosnowiec will contribute to the development and dissemination of drone technology in Poland. As a state institute in the aviation industry, we want drones to become an integral part of our everyday life in the area of services and public safety in the near future.”
After the flights, the test results will be utilized by Urban Air Mobility (UAM). Dronehub is among the leading European aviation companies working towards Urban Air Mobility in the European airspace, and will perform roughly 160 flights to test the system in three tasks: transporting the AED defibrillator, aerial video surveillance of the scene of the incident along with providing the image to public services, and in creating orthophotos and photogrammetries for public services. The flights are planned to take place from September 2021 to October 2022.
