Development of hydrogen-fueled drones

According to a reporter in Australia, the University of Sydney is currently cooperating with medical services consulting company ASAC Consultancy to deploy the Wildu project - a research and development project for environmentally friendly drones to supporting medical services for communities in rural and remote areas of this country.

This medical drone will use hydrogen fuel. (Illustration photo: CCO).

The University of Sydney's announcement on April 22 said that with an initial investment of 3.6 million AUD (2.32 million USD), the Wildu project will develop a medical drone. specifically, powered by hydrogen , to support the early detection, prevention and treatment of health problems common in rural and remote areas of Australia, such as sepsis ( sepsis).

Associate Professor Dries Verstraete at the University of Sydney, who is leading the project, said the type of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) his team is researching is a vertical take-off and landing vehicle (eVTOL) that flies. with hydrogen fuel . In order to meet the significant flight distance when operating over a wide range, his team will integrate and optimize a hydrogen-fueled battery system, and continue to develop a battery system based on a 3-cell set. hybrid fuel cell cell, extending fuel cell life under the complex and harsh operating conditions in Australia.

Associate Professor Verstraete believes that the project will be added to the local basic health network, remote medical care services, pathology research and pharmaceutical supply, thereby contributing to solving the situation. Health inequalities for some of Australia's most isolated and vulnerable communities. Additionally, the project will support disaster and emergency management activities, such as disease outbreaks or flooding in remote communities.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the National Indigenous Australian Agency (NIAA), people living in rural areas face unique challenges due to their geographical location and often have poor health conditions. worse off than those living in urban areas, with higher rates of hospitalization, death, injury, and poorer access to basic health services. Of these, Indigenous Australians make up 32% of the population in rural and remote areas and this group has a lower life expectancy, a high disease burden, and a higher likelihood of hospitalization than other communities. remaining.