Drones: from lifesaver to invisible model, take to the skies

MIKOLOW, Pologne: Silently the eight propellers of the Hermes V8MT drone begin to spin and the large yellow aircraft rises up, locates its direction and moments later disappears into the sky in southern Poland.Today the drone is making a successful 8.5-kilometre (5.3-mile) test flight near the headquarters of the Polish firm Spartaqs in the town of Mikolow; soon it will be making journeys between a blood bank and the Institute of Cardiology in Warsaw.It will follow a route marked by radio beacons and fly over waterways for the most part so as not to injure anyone lest it fall. Once the necessary permits arrive, Hermes could be used to save lives, transporting blood and medicine in emergencies. In the future, with a special pod in its cargo, it could even transport hearts for transplants.“Flying at a rate of more than 80 kilometres (50 miles) an hour and with no risk of getting stuck in a traffic jam, the drone would be much faster than an ambulance,” said Spartaqs company founder and chief inventor Slawomir Huczala. Poland is joining the recent global explosion of drone technology, which has seen several civilian projects along with hundreds of often top secret military ones.

from The News International - World https://ift.tt/2XWT6Pz