The project of a drone for medical emergency use, which 58 students from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) presented in the spring, met with prominent interest: The Volkswagen Group has its eye on "Mission Pulse", which the TUM initiative Horyzn as Wants to develop a rescue drone to transport a defibrillator.
Specifically, the Bavarian Red Cross (BRK) is also involved in the development work and, with its infrastructure, supports simulations and tests under real conditions, for example with the use of the control center through to ambulances.
Rudiger Koehn
Business correspondent based in Munich.
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For the students, their interest confirms their thesis that the use of an unmanned, electrically operated and vertically taking off flying object as a lifesaver is a realistic scenario.
"We are currently in talks with Volkswagen and are preparing a cooperation in connection with our Pulse Mission," says Balázs Nagy, aerospace engineering student, initiator and head of Horyzn.
At the time of making an agreement, he says nothing;
but it should be imminent.
Fly to the scene in five minutes
The interest comes from the upper floors of the corporate headquarters in Wolfsburg, Nagy only suggests, without giving details. A connection between car and drone is not absurd. The Horyzn project contains elements for the concept of an autonomously driving and fully networked car that the VW Group and its brands such as VW, Audi, Škoda and Porsche are working on. Complete solutions for a digital vehicle that will later drive independently also include road safety and assistance in emergencies or accidents.
In the spring, Horyzn presented the plan to develop a drone that would take on life-saving tasks. The idea of the medical mission is that an "eVTOL" (electric vertical take-off and landing) should fly within five minutes within a radius of six kilometers to a location, hover over it and lower a defibrillator. The unmanned aerial vehicle is controlled remotely by a pilot. The half-kilogram defibrillator, as you can find it today in public places or in supermarkets, can be operated by virtually anyone and could help a sick person with heart problems or infarction even before paramedics arrive in an ambulance. Nagy says that it takes an average of nine minutes from the emergency call to the arrival. "If you shorten the time to five minutes,the chance of survival triples. "
Red Cross participates
The participation of the Bavarian Red Cross in the project shows that the concept is not about fantasies.
The prototype is currently being built and will be officially presented in December in the presence of Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU), who has already agreed to participate.
Söder supports such initiative projects by student groups at the University of Munich - as well as that of TUM Hyperloop, which is funded by the Free State.
The 35 students had won the international competition for the tunnel transport system called Hyperloop four times in a row with their pod.
Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and the space company Space X, announced the competitions.
After the TUM Hyperloop initiative, which was founded in 2016, students from 21 nations from eight faculties came together in November 2019 and developed the “Silencio Gamma” drone. With a length of 1.95 meters and a wingspan of 3.60 meters, it is 13 kilograms light because it is largely made of carbon. It is equipped with four vertical rotors and two horizontal propellers.
Mission Pulse will be slightly larger and will be equipped with eight vertical rotors and two propellers for cruising flight.
Instead of 72 kilometers per hour with the first model and a range of 50 kilometers, the defibrillator drone will be capable of up to 125 kilometers per hour.
It should have a range of about 15 kilometers.
The difference to other drone concepts lies in the separation of the drives for vertical take-off and cruise flight.
As a rule, vertical take-off drones are equipped with rotatable drives, which are much more complicated and heavier.
Interest in Horyzn grows
If everything goes according to plan, the flight permit for Mission Pulse could be issued for autumn 2022 and the first simulated missions could be started. Such a model is also conceivable for other rescue tasks, for example when it comes to transporting organs from one hospital to another. Interest in Horyzn is also growing beyond VW and BRK. The British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce is a new sponsor, with more to follow, Nagy announced. Previous supporters include Camilo Dornier as one of the heirs of the aircraft manufacturing dynasty, the high-flyer jet project Lilium, drone developer Quantum-Systems, the sensor and radar technology manufacturer Hensoldt, the engine manufacturer MTU, the entrepreneurTUM start-up network and the car rental company Hertz.
Finding sponsors is one reason why one student initiative has now joined forces with the other so that the network at the Technical University of Munich grows and becomes a bit more professional: Horyzn has TUM Hyperloop, which established itself two years ago as the Next Prototype association founded, affiliated and has become part of the association. The interests are aligned in the same way, which is why economies of scale (synergies) can be used in many areas. The financing is bundled, especially since the sponsors of both projects are pursuing similar interests, as the Hyperloop supporters Airbus, Infineon, Siemens, and Panasonic show.