A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers has designed a drone-based system to rapidly deliver an Automated External Defibrillator, or AED, to remote areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In February 2025, the team had the opportunity to test its efficacy in Wisconsin’s northwoods following one of the world’s most iconic cross-country ski races. “Moving at more than 40 miles per hour, a drone can deliver an AED quickly and safely by avoiding obstacles on the ground\u2014in this case, skiers, spectators and the forest itself,” says Lennon Rodgers<\/a>, director of the Grainger Engineering Design Innovation Laboratory<\/a> (DI Lab) in the UW-Madison College of Engineering and an engineer on the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Held annually for more than five decades between the northern Wisconsin cities of Cable and Hayward, the American Birkebiner<\/a> is the world’s third-largest ski race. “Birkie Week” events attract more than 11,000 skiers from around the world who participate in events of varying types and distances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Birkebiner race physician Jesse Coenen reached out to Rodgers for a better solution. For the project, Rodgers was inspired, in part, by former UW-Madison industrial and systems engineering faculty member Justin Boutilier, who created a framework<\/a> for a network of AED-outfitted drones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Collaborating with Coenen, Rodgers and colleague John Lombardo<\/a>, an instructor in the DI Lab, designed and built an AED-carrying system secured to the bottom of a DJI commercial drone. The drone uses GPS coordinates to reach its destination. Then, while the drone hovers well above the tree canopy, its pilot remotely lowers the AED to the ground via a Kevlar cord, releases the AED, and flies the drone back to base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exercise, says Rodgers, may point to a future in which race organizers rely\u2014in part\u2014on a fleet of AED-toting drones that can quickly respond to emergencies anywhere on the Birkebiner course. “We also are seeking other collaborators,” he says. “For example, a system like ours could be stationed on top of a hospital and could reach a 2-mile radius of the hospital in just a few minutes. Beyond AEDs, our system could deliver other critical small equipment, such as epinephrine auto-injectors or life jackets.” (Watch a video of an AED-toting drone<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to Lombardo, Rodgers’ other engineering collaborators include Craig Conner and Kris Biegler, adjunct professors in mechanical engineering; and Rebecca Alcock, a PhD student in industrial and systems engineering<\/a>. In a related project, Rodgers also is advising Reese Highbloom, Chris Wilmoth, Carter Schreiber and Connon Keenan\u2014a group of mechanical engineering<\/a> seniors that is focused on delivering AEDs via drones to rural areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This project was partially sponsored by the Plexus Interdisciplinary Engineering Design Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n