DEFENCE: Armband DronE For EmergeNCiEs

Group:

Gregor/Pat/Henry

Summary:

Drones are becoming increasingly prominent as tools in our modern society. Initially developed for combat applications, today they are being investigated in the civilian realm. While currently limited to hobbyist use, with some surveying applications, we envision them moving into greater contexts. Package delivery, repairs, or even menial labor -- all could be accomplished with drones.

But this can be taken even further. We envision a future in which ubiquitous drones become a resource for people in crisis. Taking inspiration from "The Culture" series of books, we imagine an armband worn by people during their day to day lives. This smart device would monitor vital signs, location data, and other sensor information to get an idea of people's status. If abnormal results are detected then, it will prompt the user to verify that they are okay. If they fail to respond affirmative, or if they explicitly call for a response on the armband--emergency services would be alerted.

This system would help improve the notification time for police, ambulance service, and the fire brigade. However, this might to lead to an increased burden on traditional emergency services. Instead of immediately dispatching a human, a drone would the first line of response. (Maybe this drone is retasked from other jobs, or is a dedicated emergency drone.) When this drone arrives, it will use cameras and other sensors to get data about emerging situations to human dispatchers. They would be able to speak through the drone, and interact physically with whomever is in trouble.

Component Breakdown:

• Drone Dispatch Station (Henry)

  • Automatic Charging

• Drone (Pat)

  • Drone Automatic Control: search and locate troubled human, return to base
  • Drone Payload: camera, speaker, microphone

• Human Dispatcher Station (Henry)

  • Drone Control Program

• Armband (Gregor)

  • Health Sensors: heart rate, temperature, ect.
  • Human Feedback System: screen?, speaker
  • Gesture Control?

Demo

We plan to show how the drone can takeoff and locate someone in trouble (based only on armband information). Then we want to demo how it could be useful in a situation like a crime or a heart attack. This would involve showing how a dispatcher could utilize the system.

Also we want to explore the implications of such a system existing. Would people submit to constant monitoring? Is this a contribution to our existing system of surveillance? (And what are the risks of that)