Everdrone is one of the SMes that participates in the AERO EDIH project, the article below is from the industry website Branschaktuellt.
Thanks to the Swedish drone startup Everdrone can people in accidents get help in a flash. “All situations where every seconds counts are our field of work”, says Mats Sällström, CEO of Everdrone
When a person suffers a sudden cardiac arrest, every second counts. Only one in ten survives outside the hospital. But if cardiopulmonary resuscitation and an electronic defibrillator can be deployed immediately, the chances of survival increase to between 50 and 70 percent. The challenge is to get help to arrive in time.
West Swedish startup Everdrone has focused on these life-decisive seconds and created a solution based on the latest in drone technology, telecom and IoT: Autonomous drones that, in a race against time, fly out medical equipment to people in need.
Traditional blue light companies lack capability here
In December 2021, Everdrone’s drone technology saved the life of a 71-year-old man in Trollhättan who suffered a cardiac arrest.
Being able to contribute snapshots from accident scenes before any other emergency vehicles have arrived is another promising area of use – as support for emergency services and medical personnel, but also police investigations and insurance matters.
“Situations where every second counts are our field of work. We operate in a time span where the traditional blue light companies lack the ability today, with capacity within 0-3 minutes,” says Everdrone AB CEO Mats Sällström
That’s how they solved all the technical challenges
The company was founded in 2017 with Mats Sällström as CEO and serial entrepreneur and developer Maciek Drejak (now head of software) as CTO. It all started in 2016 when Maciek Drejak was looking for a new challenge. Previously he had developed the sleep app SleepCycle and several games, but this time he wanted to create something who contributed to society.
Many people out there are curious about what Everdrone do
The idea was born to build a drone that could assist healthcare in quick calls to hard-to-reach places. They started experimenting and created a first prototype.
“We started by solving a number of technical challenges, such as guaranteeing stability and navigation with GPS and cameras. It was also important to establish a stable communication link with a suitable partner,” says Mats Sällström.
Chose the open 4G network and IoT from Tele2
The choice fell on an IoT setup from Tele2 where communication goes over the open 4G network. It has proven to work great.
“It was a strategic decision to use existing community infrastructure for the communication link, instead of an in-house solution. The solution from Tele2 is robust and comprehensive and meets our requirements for speed and bandwidth,” says Mats Sällström.
“And when 5G becomes more developed, it is a natural next step to switch up together with Tele2”, he continues.
Once the technology was in place, work began on developing services, logistics, business arrangements and a functioning delivery organization to meet customer needs.
Everdrone’s drones are ready daily
Today, Everdrone’s services are used in the Västra Götaland region, where five drones are ready to go out in parallel with the ambulances. In addition to defibrillators, the drone can carry medicines and equipment for suspected overdoses, poisonings or allergic reactions.
Other customers are the municipality of Östersund, Region Nordjylland in Denmark and healthcare projects in both France and Great Britain. The queue of interested parties is getting longer and there are now plans to license out the platform and expand internationally.
“I think there are many people out there who look curiously at what we do,” says Mats Sällström.
“The cooperation with Tele2 is an important prerequisite”
One actor that follows Everdrone’s journey with great interest is the collaboration partner Tele2.
“It’s awesome to be able to participate and make a difference for ordinary people and help take the solution out into the world. After all, it’s about saving lives,” says Anders Jutered, customer manager at Tele2 IoT.
Mats Sällström takes a long-term view of the collaboration with Tele2, which is an important partner.
“Tele2 is very good at understanding our needs and how we can improve our business. Having this type of collaboration with a large mobile operator that can offer stable and secure connectivity in Sweden and globally is an important milestone, and a prerequisite for our expansion,” he concludes.
Here’s how Everdrone’s system works:
- The alarm goes off – Everdrone’s drone takes off and navigates using GPS data and cameras to the accident site.
- The flight takes place autonomously, but the drone is constantly in contact with the ground center, where an operator is ready to take over manually if necessary.
- The operator confirms the delivery location and winches the equipment down safely.
- Everdrone’s current drones are a modified multi-rotor model from the company DJI, and are equipped with their own hardware and software for autonomy and operational reliability.
- Communication with the ground center has so far been managed via Tele2’s 4G network. The drones’ SIM cards are stored in Tele2’s platform, where it is possible to follow them in real time via various tools. If problems should occur, Everdrone can go in and see deviations and set up automations so that alarms can go out via, for example, SMS or e-mail.
