[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/9516\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EEmergency-response drones to save lives in the digital skies\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn a city in the future, a fire breaks out in a skyscraper. An alarm is triggered and a swarm of drones swoops in, surrounds the building and uses antennas to locate people inside, enabling firefighters to go straight to the stricken individuals. Just in the nick of time \u2013 no deaths are recorded.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EElsewhere in the city, drones fly back and forth delivering tissue samples from hospitals to specialist labs for analysis, while another rushes a defibrillator to someone who has suffered a suspected cardiac arrest on a football pitch. The patient lives, with the saved minutes proving critical.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAt the time of writing, drones have already been used in search-and-rescue situations to save more than 880 people worldwide, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/enterprise.dji.com\/drone-rescue-map\/\u0022\u003Eaccording to drone company DJI\u003C\/a\u003E. Drones are also being used for medical purposes, such as to transport medicines and samples, and take vaccines to remote areas.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDrones for such uses are still a relatively new development, meaning there is plenty of room to make them more effective and improve supporting infrastructure. This is particularly true when it comes to urban environments, where navigation is complex and requires safety regulations.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFlying firefighters\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/875183\u0022\u003EIDEAL DRONE\u003C\/a\u003E project developed a system to aid in firefighting and other emergencies to demonstrate the potential for using swarms of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) in such situations. Equipped with antennas, the drones use a radio-frequency system to detect the location of \u2018nodes\u2019 \u2013 or tags \u2013 worn by people inside a building.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EBy knowing how many people are inside the building and where they are located, it will optimise the search-and-rescue operation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProf Gian Paolo Cimellaro, IDEAL DRONE\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EMaking use of an Italian aircraft hangar, the tests involved pilots on the ground flying three drones around the outside of a building. The idea is that the drones triangulate the position of people inside where their signals intersect, as well as detecting information about their health condition. The details can then be mapped to optimise and accelerate rescue operations, and enhance safety for firefighters by allowing them to avoid searching all over a burning building without knowing where people are.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018You create a sort of temporary network from outside the building through which you can detect the people inside,\u2019 said Professor Gian Paolo Cimellaro, an engineer at the Polytechnic University of Turin and project lead on IDEAL DRONE.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018By knowing how many people are inside the building and where they are located, it will optimise the search-and-rescue operation.\u2019\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nHe added: \u2018A unique characteristic of this project is that it allows indoor tracking without communication networks such as Wi-Fi or GPS, which might not be available if you are in an emergency like a disaster or post-earthquake situation.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are some challenges in terms of accuracy and battery life, while another obvious drawback is that people in the building need to already be wearing trackers.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, said Prof Cimellaro, current thinking is that this can be unintrusive if tags are incorporated in existing technology that people often already carry such as smartwatches, mobile phones or ID cards. They can also be used by organisations that mandate their use for staff working in hazardous environments, such as factories or offshore oil rigs.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ELooking beyond the challenges, Prof Cimellaro thinks such systems could be a reality within five years, with drones holding significant future promise for avoiding \u2018putting human lives in danger\u2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedical networks\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAnother area in which drones can be used to save lives is medical emergencies. This is the focus of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/101017701\u0022\u003ESAFIR-Med\u003C\/a\u003E project.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBelgian medical drone operator Helicus has established a command-and-control (C2C) centre in Antwerp to coordinate drone flights. The idea is that the C2C automatically creates flight plans using artificial intelligence, navigating within a digital twin \u2013 or virtual representation \u2013 of the real world. These plans are then relayed to the relevant air traffic authorities for flight authorisation.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We foresee drone cargo ports on the rooftops of hospitals, integrated as much as possible with the hospital\u2019s logistical system so that transport can be on demand,\u2019 added Geert Vanhandenhove, manager of flight operations at Helicus.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESo far, SAFIR-Med has successfully carried out remote virtual demonstrations, simulations, flights controlled from the C2C at test sites, and other tests such as that of a \u2018detect-and-avoid\u2019 system to help drones take evasive action when others are flying in the vicinity.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe next step will be to validate the concepts in real-life demonstrations in several countries, including Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. The trials envisage scenarios including transfers of medical equipment and tissue samples between hospitals and labs, delivery of a defibrillator to treat a cardiac patient outside a hospital, and transport of a physician to an emergency site by passenger drone.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EWe foresee drone cargo ports on the rooftops of hospitals\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EGeert Vanhandenhove, SAFIR-Med\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAdditional simulations in Greece and the Czech Republic will show the potential for extending such systems across Europe.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESAFIR-Med is part of a wider initiative known as \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sesarju.eu\/U-space\u0022\u003EU-space\u003C\/a\u003E. It\u2019s co-funded by the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR) Joint Undertaking which is a public-private effort for safer drone operations under the\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.sesarju.eu\/\u0022\u003E Digital European Sky\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMaking rules\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EMuch of the technology is already there for such uses of drones, says Vanhandenhove. However, he highlights that there are regulatory challenges involved in drone flights in cities, especially with larger models flying beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). This includes authorisations for demonstrations within SAFIR-Med itself.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The fact that this is the first time this is being done is posing significant hurdles,\u2019 he said. \u2018It will depend on the authorisations granted as to which scenarios can be executed.\u2019\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nBut regulations are set to open up over time, with European Commission rules facilitating a framework for use of BVLOS UAVs in low-level airspace due to come into force next January.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EVanhandenhove emphasises that the development of more robust drone infrastructure will be a gradual process of learning and improvement. Eventually, he hopes that through well-coordinated systems with authorities, emergency flights can be mobilised in seconds in smart cities of the future. \u2018For us, it\u2019s very important that we can get an authorisation in sub-minute time,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHe believes commercial flights could even begin within a couple of years, though it may not be until post-2025 that widely integrated, robust uncrewed medical systems come into play in cities. \u2018It\u2019s about making the logistics of delivering whatever medical treatment faster and more efficient, and taking out as much as possible the constraints and limitations that we have on the route,\u2019 said Vanhandenhove.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Ch5\u003EResearch in this article was funded via the EU\u0027s European Research Council. 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