Image: Volocopter
Air rescue organization ADAC Luftrettung will be conducting a feasibility study on the use of a manned version of the Volocopter VTOL multicopter in air rescue and emergency service operations, according to an announcement from Volocopter. The project will start with computer simulations and move to research flights within a few months, with a focus on whether the Volocopter can get emergency personnel to patients faster than current rapid response vehicles. ADAC, which is based in Munich, Germany, plans to begin testing in spring 2019.
“The Volocopter is based on a technical platform permitting its diverse and reliable use as an air taxi, heavy lifting drone or in rescue missions,” said Volocopter CEO Florian Reuter. “I firmly believe in the Volocopter’s potential for large-scale use as an air shuttle for emergency doctors, and I look forward to our joint systematic validation with ADAC air rescue.”
The study is scheduled to last for a year and a half and cost approximately €500,000 ($570,000). “Our goal in supporting this project is to improve emergency medical care, thereby making an important contribution to the future of the EMS system,” said ADAC managing director Andrea David. Other project participants include the German Aerospace Center and the Institut for Notfallmedizin und Medizinmanagement (INM, Institute for Emergency Medicine and Medical Management) at Ludwig Maximilian University.
