Though the majority of measures taken during the height of COVID19 have been eased, the virus is still here with the Delta and Omicron variants surging. For many people around the world, they simply feel more safe sticking to a modified version of social distancing, contactless deliveries, and telehealth options. Drone technology has been a major boost in enabling such practices. Advancements in technology that allow drones to safely travel in shared airspace and complex environments mean that people, especially those in remote locations, can have access to what they need without having to leave their homes.

The most noticeable way drones have done this is with progressing delivery opportunities. Throughout the pandemic, drones have been vital in delivering emergency supplies like PPEs, medications, vaccines, COVID test kits, and groceries. They have even been used to deliver joy with books, Girl Scout Cookies, and TV promotional prizes. Now a team of researchers led by Dr. Manish Kumar from the University of Cincinnati (UC) are looking to enhance the way drones are used by incorporating them into telehealth appointments.

With a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, “Dr. Kumar’s research interests include Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, robotics, decision-making and control in complex systems, multi-sensor data fusion, swarm systems, and multiple robot coordination and control,” as stated in his bio. As of 2021, he has received 28 grants from the likes of NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the Federal Government to conduct his research. In 2020 Dr. Kumar was awarded $25,000 from UC’s Collaborative Research Advancement Grant Program for a project titled Pilot Teams Prototype Development and Feasibility Study of Telehealth Drone Role.

With the grant, Dr. Kumar has been developing a program that will enable drones to enter a patient’s home and facilitate a telehealth appointment. The drone will be equipped with a communication tablet and medical instruments needed to administer an examination. Consulting on the project is UC College of Nursing Director of Telehealth, Debi Sampsel. Debi explains that the benefits of telehealth have enabled nurses and doctors to see homebound patients, however, there is still only so much that can be done in a telehealth appointment. With the new drone program, Debi said “We’ll be able to get a read on their heart rate. We’ll be able to know what their oxygen level is in their body,” closing the gap between telehealth and in-person appointments.

For Dr. Kumar, the challenge isn’t equipping a drone with the necessary tools or piloting it from point A to B, it is maintaining contact with the drone once it gets to point C, the interior of a patient’s home. “That’s very, very challenging from technology point of view, because once you go inside people’s homes, you lose connection with the GPS,” Dr. Kumar explained. The prototype that Dr. Kumar built has a new range of sensors that will overcome the obstacle, allowing the drone to enter a GPS denied structure and safely pilot around people. Dr. Kumar is ready to start testing the telehealth drone prototype, a technology he says will allow people who are homebound or living in remote locations to live more independently while still maintaining their health goals.