One of my passions is UAVs or drones of which I’ve built a number. Over the past year I’ve been working with a local team of fellow enthusiasts preparing an entry for the 2016 UAV Medical Express Challenge.

The competition involves a simulated scenario where teams must send an unmanned, autonomous aircraft a substantial distance (10-30km) away to locate a person who is unwell. Once located, an aircraft must land near the unwell individual and a blood sample will be placed in the aircraft. Next, the aircraft must autonomously take-off and return back to the launch site where that sample would be “tested” to help diagnose and treat the simulated casualty.

In September 2016 we received a “go” decision from the judges to proceed to Deliverable 2 where we must demonstrate our capability to complete the challenge. We submitted this yesterday and from here the judges will short-list the 20 teams that will get to attempt Deliverable 3 and enter the competition.

Our team blog contains the full details from Deliverable 2 including the written report and the accompanying video is below:

This challenge is an exciting opportunity to demonstrate the abilities of technology for doing good in our world. The fact we can develop this on tiny budgets with a DIY approach is a real testament to the amazing world we all live in.