Emergency “just-in-time” Delivery and Recovery of Whole Blood via Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)

We propose to comprehensively demonstrate the utility of “just in time” delivery of whole blood and class VIII medical supplies via unmanned aerial vehicles. In Phase I and the First Phase II, we integrated an autonomy package onto a long-range, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft and deployed the combined system at military test ranges in Arizona and Virginia. The final Phase II demonstration at the 2021 Army Maneuver Support, Sustainment, and Protection Integration Experiments (MSSPIX) proved concept feasibility: the aircraft flew to the destination specified by a GPS coordinate, evaluated the terrain at the landing zone, correctly identified hazards in real-time, selected the optimal landing location, and guided the aircraft to land safely. Additionally, we demonstrated hover- and parachute-drop of blood containers, for those situations where the aircraft cannot or should not land. We also designed and built a prototype blood transportation container capable of keeping blood in a temperature range of 2 to 5oC. In this Second Phase II we will add the ability of the vehicle to avoid collisions with objects in the vicinity during takeoff and landing, reduce the autonomy payload’s size, weight, and power (SWaP) to increase the amount of blood the system is able to transport while still maintaining the ability to select a safe landing location and guide the aircraft to a safe landing. We will also redesign the user interface and blood transport containers based on lessons learned in Phase I and the First Phase II. Finally, we will conduct 2 weeks of demonstrations to the Defense Health Agency and other Department of Defense stakeholders. Our team is led by Near Earth Autonomy, a leader in autonomous flight, in partnership with L3Harris, which produces transition VTOL aircraft that have long endurance as well as the ability to take off and land vertically. The team members have the key experience to bring the topic to real-world applications.