Fleet of super drones could help fight fires and deliver medical help

Flying to the rescue: one of the new quadcopters being tested by Unmanned Life
David Tett

A swarm of up to 250 self-flying drones could be developed to help fight fires and deliver medicines to para-medics attending emergencies in cities.

A London start-up is testing new “life-saving” software that enables fleets of quadcopters to work together and fly in autonomous formations that adapt to their surroundings.

Shoreditch-based Unmanned Life said a team of co-ordinated drones can beam back accurate data from burning buildings by using multiple specialist cameras, such as one with heat sensors, another equipped with sonar to check for structural damage and others deployed to check for survivors.

Further flying robots could deliver supplies in conjunction with 250 “rover” autonomous vehicles working on the ground, potentially making the emergency drone squad 500-strong.

The quadcopters are testing life-saving software to aid emergency services and provide relief to disaster zones 
David Tett

Last week the prime minister was given a “drone dance” demonstration in the back garden of Downing Street at a reception for entrepreneurs.

Two quadcopters were controlled from another location in London to show how responsive they can be at distance. They can be operated by a single pilot in a 5G network or have co-ordinates programmed in to complete tasks, with cameras relaying footage for human controllers to survey a scene.

Fire engines would be turned into command centres running a 5G network, allowing human operators to control multiple drones, Unmanned Life’s founder Kumardev Chatterjee said. Artificial intelligence would allow the robots to make decisions in fast-moving situations and trials are being conducted with BT, Ericsson and King’s College London for “urban emergency rescue scenarios”.

In London tests earlier this year, quadcopters were programmed by a team in the US to land in a certain spot to deliver medical supplies. BT said 5G speeds can help with “advanced disaster recovery services using drones, such as delivery of equipment, medicine, food, water and blood”.

Mr Chatterjee said their platform allows “swarm management” without needing large amounts of hardware or many people. He added: “Attending a fire, one drone would fly autonomously around the building floor by floor while another looks around the top of the building to capture very high-resolution live images streamed back to the ground for firefighters to get an understanding of the situation, how the fire is moving, where it’s located, how dense it is, where the humans are, and where the most people are trapped.”

Trials have been undertaken with drones carrying small amounts of water but Mr Chatterjee said they are most effective gathering intelligence and ferrying rescue supplies.

He would not comment on whether London emergency services are using the technology, but said it would aid rescue workers, not replace humans hit by public service budget cuts.

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