Bruder, Frédéric, Erd, Aaron, Benk, Denis, Brütsch, Linus, Zöllinger, Florian, Schwierz, Matthias, Houzenga, Eric, Himmelreich, Paul, Maximilian, Karl-Heinz, Blume, Henriette, Hagen, Fritz, Dr., Werner, Daniel, Dr., Neuburger, Bernd, and Sigl, Christian
This feasibility study investigates the possible applications of manned multicopters in the rescue service and answers the question whether the use of multicopters can offer an advantage over established systems. Multicopters are a completely new type of aircraft. They are electrically powered, multi-engined, can take off vertically and have a high degree of automation. Multicopters were primarily developed for use as air taxis in the civil sector. The use in rescue services places additional or different requirements on a multicopter. However, the investigation of the technical requirements is only one part of the study focus. Aspects of demand analysis, operational, legal, political, social as well as economic feasibility are further central elements of the study. The results are to serve as a basis for further practical tests and test scenarios with multicopters in air rescue service. The introduction of new aircraft is nothing new for ADAC Luftrettung with its 50-year history. Constant new developments by the manufacturers have repeatedly confronted ADAC Luftrettung with the challenge of putting new market- ready helicopter models such as the BK117, MD900, EC135 and BK117 D2 into service and operating them. This experience can be built on fundamentally, even though multicopter technology is a differentiated technology compared to helicopters. Initial situation. To ensure the best possible outcome for an emergency patient, the early arrival of qualified rescue teams is essential. Statistical surveys show, however, that the emergency doctor arrival time has increased by almost 40% over the last 20 years and has thus deteriorated. The main reason for this is a constantly increasing number of applications with simultaneously increasing binding times. These are mainly due to longer transport distances as a result of the hospitals forming centres. This is accompanied by a decrease in the availability of emergency medical services. In addition to the increased commitment of existing rescue resources, the situation is also worsened by an increasing shortage of qualified emergency doctors. The emergency service providers are increasingly faced with the challenge of being able to adequately staff their emergency doctor locations. Solution strategies for this have already been established or are currently being tested. For example, the introduction of the professional profile of the emergency paramedic should lead to a relief of the emergency doctor capacities; the introduction of a system of remote medical consultation should also contribute towards securing the system. However, these measures alone cannot remedy the shortfall. Another possibility can and must be to improve logistics. An emergency paramedic or a remote doctor cannot always replace the emergency doctor at the scene of the emergency. Solutions must therefore be found and established to make a smaller number of emergency doctors available for larger areas of care. One such solution strategy is the use of multicopters in the emergency services. The population is expected to be very supportive of this. According to a representative survey, more than 65% of those questioned are in favour of using multicopters for emergency medical services. Aim and delimitation of the study. The central focus of the study is to investigate the feasibility of introducing multicopters in the emergency services. To this end, the study is based on existing and expected technical developments in the field of multicopters, which aim to achieve market maturity within a timescale of two to four years. In this timescale, multicopters with high payloads will not yet be able to achieve sufficient market maturity. For this reason, the study does not consider a (patient) transport component, but only a tactical shuttle system, which focuses on expanding the emergency doctor supply areas. Furthermore, fully autonomous aircraft deployment options are not to be considered. Autonomous flights are to be expected in the future within the scope of taxi operations, but in the field of air rescue, they cannot be considered realistic in the medium term due to the high demands on flying skills in unknown terrain or landing at uncharted landing sites. Requirements analysis. The project partner INM has carried out requirements analyses based on various simulations to analyse and evaluate essential operational, technical and conceptual requirements. These resulted in a valid requirement profile for a possible multicopter concept and also characteristic values for required speeds and ranges. In the simulations, the federal states of Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate were first examined in terms of demand analysis within the framework of a macroscopic perspective. Based on this, a regional analysis (microscopic view) for the model regions Ansbach (Bavaria) and Idar-Oberstein (Rhineland-Palatinate) was carried out in a further step. Both simulation perspectives were based on real deployment data. Two main results can be derived from the simulations: On the one hand, the use of multicopters in rescue services can contribute to system improvement and to overcoming existing challenges. The enlargement of retention areas means that on-site emergency medical expertise can continue to be available while maintaining the same level of reliability of supply, even if the situation of a shortage of emergency doctors should deteriorate further. On the other hand, essential planning and technical parameters are derived from the simulations: The deployment radius of a multicopter as a system-relevant rescue tool should ideally be 25 to 30 km. This radius of deployment results in an optimum deployment speed (airspeed) of the multicopter of about 150 to 180 km/h and a minimum range of about 150 km. The analysis of the microscopic vision in the model regions also showed that even at a speed of 80 km/h (above ground) and a range of 50 km, significant improvements in the supply situation can be seen. Technical requirements. The technical feasibility was examined on the basis of the VoloCity of the project partner Volocopter, as this multicopter is characterised by its simplicity of design and, above all, it can be expected to be ready for the market at an early stage. With 18 fixed installed propellers, the VoloCity is particularly resilient. For the feasibility study, VoloCity provided the necessary parameters to evaluate the concept from a technical point of view. In contrast to an air taxi, there are additional requirements for a multicopter as an air rescue vehicle, which result from the special operational environment of air rescue. This includes, among other things, operability at night and under special weather conditions. From a technical point of view, the corresponding systems (e.g. NVIS) must be provided for this purpose or, in future, automatic or assisting systems must support the pilot at night or in poor visibility (e.g. lidar, radar). According to the VoloCity product specification, its range is 35 km. This value is based on the VoloCity as a “Minimum Viable Product”, which allows for a first trial operation and subsequent pilot phases. For a nationwide operation of multicopter air rescue systems, model variants with alternative or improved energy storage or energy conversion systems as well as higher payloads and cruising speeds are required. Operational requirements. From an operational point of view, the focus is on the availability and safety of the rescue equipment. Rescue equipment used in rescue services must have the highest possible availability, since an emergency patient is relying on the safe and rapid arrival of the emergency doctor and their survival or patient outcome in an appropriate emergency situation may depend on it. It is therefore necessary that the multicopter can operate 24 hours a day as well as in bad weather and that technical failures can be reduced to an absolute minimum. There are also special requirements for the medical equipment. Thanks to the multicopter, the emergency doctor will often arrive at the emergency site early (or even as the first rescue means). This requires special medical equipment, which must be weight-optimised in comparison to the emergency medical service vehicle (NEF) in the case of the multicopter – due to a significantly lower payload. Since only two crew members are supposed to be on board, the emergency doctor must take over the flying duties of a TC HEMS according to current regulations. The driver of an NEF currently has emergency medical training. Similarly, in multicopter operations, the pilot, who should have the appropriate (special) licence, flight experience and type rating, would have to undergo additional emergency medical training. To ensure availability at all times, even under the most adverse weather or visibility conditions, a vehicle should be kept available at every location as a fallback level. Regulatory requirements. At European level, the first provisions for the specification of multicopters already exist and regulations for their operation are under development. The specific requirements of the air rescue service must already be taken into account in order to avoid a regulatory blockage of this application. At national level, safe legal bases for landings are essential for the air rescue service. Both the legal basis for landing on Public Interest Sites (PIS) and the scope of authorisation of special heliports would have to be improved in order to enable the use of multicopters in the EMS. The integration of multicopters in the aircraft classifications needs to be clarified. According to the rescue service legislation of the Länder (German constituent states), the qualification requirements for the crew in particular need to be examined, as pilots are usually not able to provide additional, comprehensive training as emergency paramedics, but may not even need it if accompanied by a comprehensively trained emergency doctor. The consistent enforcement of these new aviation regulations throughout Germany requires a sufficiently equipped, high-performance aviation administration as well as good coordination between the federal government and the Länder. Political and social challenges. Multicopter rescue services can hope for a high level of acceptance among the population. Residents living close to aerodromes are affected by noise pollution, which, however, is significantly lower for multicopters than for helicopters. Special attention must be paid to fire protection at landing sites and stations. The high requirements of species protection could lead to special challenges, as there are only limited stationing possibilities within a rescue service area and the effects of multicopters on the species could, according to current estimates, be comparable to the effects of helicopters, but this requires further investigation. There is also a need for clarification regarding the noise effects of multicopter aircraft on humans. The introduction of this new technology requires a political change management that promotes confidence in these yet unknown aircraft through clear and active communication.