This Drone Could Save Heart-Attack Victims' Lives

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By Anita Li2013-09-03 03:00:24 UTC

When human response time is just too slow, robots can pick up the slack. That's the idea behind the Defikopter, a drone that parachutes defibrillators to heart-attack victims and emergency responders.

Created by German nonprofit organization Definetz and drone-developer Height Tech, the Defikopter is controlled by a GPS-enabled smartphone app, which lets users request an emergency defibrillator. It can travel within a radius of 10 kilometers (a little over 6 miles), and fly at speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hours (around 43 miles per hour).

In addition to avoiding traffic jams that would slow down ambulances and other on-the-ground vehicles, the drone would be useful in areas that are sparsely populated, or have difficult terrain for travel, according to a release.

The American Red Cross reports that "For each minute defibrillation is delayed, the chance of survival is reduced approximately 10%," so a drone's quick response time may make all the difference.

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Image: Definetz

Topics: Dev & Design, Drones, Gadgets, Health & Fitness, Tech, Victims