Alcoy finalises AI health drone project

Alcoy is completing the final stages of its pioneering project to use drones for healthcare services and emergency response in complex terrain across the municipality and its surrounding hospital catchment area. The unmanned aircraft will feature autonomous landing capabilities powered by artificial intelligence.

In one of the final steps before launching the service, the local council contracting board has proposed awarding the contract for the operational analysis to the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). The contract includes conducting test flights as well as verifying and optimising routes. The council had previously acquired four state-of-the-art drones and conducted initial route studies.

UPV submitted the sole tender for the contract, valued at 40,333.22 euro including VAT. This represents a reduction of 10,083.31 euro, or 20 per cent, on the original tender price. The contract will run from the day after formalisation until 30 November. The overall project is valued at 150,000 euro, with 70 per cent funded by a grant from Ivace+i.

Under the contract, UPV will carry out flight tests on routes identified during earlier phases, validate and optimise them, and generate the necessary documentation to launch and scale the service.

The initiative aims to bring emergency and hospital services to hard-to-reach areas. Uses for the drones include transporting defibrillators for cardiac arrests and medical supplies to remote locations or emergency situations, facilitating remote communication and care, locating victims, and delivering medical equipment. Emergency applications also cover search and rescue operations, communicating with injured individuals, and monitoring natural surroundings.

To ensure safe and autonomous take-offs and landings, the project incorporates computer vision and artificial intelligence to identify secure landing zones, supported by custom integrated software. Operational safety studies, risk analyses, authority coordination, and geolocation are also included. Given the recent European regulations involved, the project incorporates compliance checks for artificial intelligence and data protection.

The development is supported by universities, health organisations, local police, and technology centres as part of the Alcoy Urban Sandbox framework.