The rescue drone flies with eight rotors. It is named after the insect it resembles.
Manchester Munich scientists have built a drone to rescue injured soldiers. The “Cricket” should fly unmanned into a battlefield and automatically bring the wounded to a rescue doctor. The prototype has already completed its first hover flight.
Why is that important: People with gunshot wounds need urgent surgery. The probability that the patient will die triples every ten minutes, researchers have found in a study. So far, however, it has hardly been possible for the armed forces to bring injured comrades to a rescue station in time.
Doctors believe that robots and autonomous systems will play a major role in rescuing wounded soldiers in the future. The European Defense Agency EDA has recognized this as a research field and speaks of “Rasevacs” (Robotics Assisted Medical Evacuation).
The Munich rescue drone was developed by scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) – at Florian Holzapfel’s Chair of Flight System Dynamics. In principle, it is similar to the electric air taxis that start-ups such as Lilium and Volocopter are developing for business flights.
The details: The so-called hexacopter has eight rotors and several special features:
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The drone includes a vehicle with a patient control center and a trailer on which the “Cricket” can take off and land.
- With the coordinates of an injured person, a pilot in the control center determines the flight route, which is then automatically flown by the “Grille”.
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A transport box is pushed into the drone. It should be easy to replace if it has been contaminated with blood, for example.
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In the box is a stretcher on which comrades have to strap the injured person. In first-aid kits you will find essentials for minimal, life-sustaining measures.
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A telemetry monitor in the cabin can measure heart rate and respiratory mechanics, sending critical information to doctors.
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A monitor on the ceiling shows the patient how far it is to the ward and should help them not to panic.
Peter Biberthaler developed the medical concept. He heads trauma surgery at Klinikum Rechts der Isar and has been working in severe injury research for 25 years. There are only a few life-prolonging measures that could be taken on site, says the doctor: “The only thing that can help with a gunshot wound is a surgeon who can stop the bleeding in the operating room.”
The cricket could fly dangerous missions – even behind enemy lines
Niclas Bähr is one of the developers of the “Grille” and part of the technical and operational management. He says: “With the cricket, the Bundeswehr can fly all the way to the front of the wounded’s nest”. What is meant is the place to which injured soldiers are withdrawn as part of the comrade aid. “Officers have said that the system could also be used for high-risk missions that they would not dare to do with manned aircraft systems – even behind enemy lines.” In such cases, a helicopter mission would not only endanger the lives of other soldiers, but also the loss risked a machine worth tens of millions of euros. According to Bähr, the “Grille” could ultimately cost around two million euros.
The batteries should be replaceable – just like the transport cabin for the injured. The drone should always be ready for use.
Biberthaler speaks of a “perfect constellation” of first aid and rapid transport, which would only become possible through the technology of autonomous flying. The turbine of a rescue helicopter would need two minutes to warm up. With an electric motor and replacement batteries, the drone is ready to take off immediately, is more difficult to hit and can fly under the radar.
The history of its origins also shows that the drone could close a capability gap: Ernst Rittinghaus is behind the project. Until March, the entrepreneur was a member of the management board at the rescue vehicle manufacturer Binz Ambulance- und Umwelttechnik. The search for a development team for a rescue drone brought him together with Florian Holzapfel two and a half years ago.
The British Royal Navy is already testing a rescue drone
In the meantime, Rittinghaus has completely dedicated himself to the “Cricket” and the company Avilus, which was founded for it. Autonomous patient transport will “without a doubt have a great future,” he tells the Handelsblatt. He is said to have provided ten million euros in self-financing for the team. So far, 32 people have been working on the drone in 15 full-time positions.
The rescue drone is said to have already shown a first hover flight.
The team estimates the Bundeswehr’s need for around 250 rescue drones. After all: Avilus has already made it into the Drone Innovation Hub. The program was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Defense to drive innovation in the air. This allows Avilus to test the “Cricket” on the premises of the Defense Technical Service 61 (WTD1) in Manching near Ingolstadt. But Bernhard Reppelmund, Head of Staff at WTD 61, says: “We offer space and advice, with this support there is in no way a procurement decision tied together.”
Should the Bundeswehr come to the realization that the concept is good and determine a corresponding need, there will be a tender at some point – to which Avilus would have to apply just like other companies.
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Other companies and the military are already working on rescue drones around the world. NavyX, the UK Navy’s innovation program, has tested a drone made by Malloy Aeronautics, a company founded in 2012. In contrast to the Munich drone, the stretcher of the “Malloy Aeronautics T400” hovers freely in the air – i.e. without a transport cabin.
Peter Biberthaler also sees possible deployment scenarios in the civil sector: “Think of the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley,” says the doctor. “The transport capacities were the biggest problem.”
But the “Grille” is only a prototype so far. The Handelsblatt was there when the transport box was pushed into the hexacopter for the first time. The next big goal is to get the drone to fly beyond the line of sight. The project could cost a three-digit million amount before it is approved. When it could actually be used by the Bundeswehr, no one wants to commit at this point in time.
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