Every year, 75,000 people in Germany suffer sudden cardiac arrest. Only 11 percent of those affected survive. The chance of survival depends heavily on the time between the emergency and the arrival of first responders. On average, it takes nine minutes for victims to receive the potentially life-saving shock of a defibrillator. If this time is shortened to four minutes, the chance of survival triples to 34 percent.
Horyzn, a project of 58 Bachelor, Master and PhD students of the Technical University of Munich, aims to significantly reduce the time it takes for life-saving medical equipment to arrive using unmanned drones as part of its “Mission Pulse” project. Over the past two years, the team has developed a vertical take-off, fixed-wing drone that can reach a radius of 6 kilometers within 5 minutes. The aircraft is notified via an emergency call and transports a defibrillator to the scene. The device is lowered onto the patient using a cable winch. Pilots will control the drones with the help of artificial intelligence. The defibrillators used can also be operated by inexperienced laypeople. However, it is planned that nearby laypeople will also be called via mobile phone to assist with the application and the necessary chest compressions until an ambulance arrives.
Horyzn “contributes positively to the social debate surrounding the use of civilian drones”
Initial flight tests with models have already been completed. However, there is still a long way to go before the Horyzn drone can be deployed. A first prototype is scheduled to be built in the third quarter, and the first simulated test flights in populated areas are scheduled to begin next year.
Thomas F. Hofmann, President of the Technical University of Munich, already praises the performance of the Horyzn team:
"Student initiatives like Horyzn demonstrate what a group of motivated students can achieve in an international and interdisciplinary team. In Horyzn, students have the opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired in lectures to the development of eVTOL UAVs, thus forming an interface between research and industry. With 'Mission Pulse,' students can positively contribute to the societal debate surrounding the use of civilian drones, and thus to the mobility of the future. I am proud of our students' achievements and wish them continued success!"
