A previous post, “Veterinary Drones” (here at Veterinary Future Society) was the germ for a full article that was just published in the current (June 2016) issue of DVM360. That article is also available online at this link: The Future of Veterinary Medicine: Drones in veterinary practice
If the link above does not work, paste this into your browser:
http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/future-veterinary-medicine-drones-veterinary-practice
Here are some fun pictures below that did not make it into the article. They illustrate some of the hurdles the FAA has to figure out, from terrorists to hawks.
In each case these are screen-shots of online ads or YouTube clips for which I do not have formal written permission. However, this post is non-profit, and I will remove them if anyone requests.
First, in the article I talk about a little known terrorist scare in Japan where the government discovered a drone with radioactive material on top of the office building of their Prime Minister. As a result they created a “Drone Police” who invented a Drone-Catching Drone. It uses a NET to capture other drones. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32465624
The Japanese Drone Catcher
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Not be outdone, a US company has developed the “Battelle Drone Defender.” This device is a real life Ray Gun. Click HERE to see video of the Drone Defender bringing (gently) down a Drone sent up to test the perimeter of a secure compound and other uses. http://www.popsci.com/dronedefender-is-an-anti-drone-rifle-attachment
The Drone Defender
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Talk about defending against drones. Here, a hawk is defending its territory from a perceived intruder. Thankfully, the drone had a video camera, and was recording at the moment of the attack. The person posting the video reports that after the attack the drone was downed and the Hawk flew off, apparently uninjured. Here is a link to the entire video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhDG_WBIQgc
Hawk attacking a hobby drone
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In the article, I propose that mobile practitioners treating Equines or Bovines will use Veterinary Drones to obtain needed instruments in the field, or to send samples to the Central Clinic or the Reference Lab. Perhaps at least one Veterinary Drone will become standard equipment in the future.
Equine Vet Launching a Drone to the Ref Lab
Please feel free to post comments…
Rolan
I am testing the “Leave a Reply” function at the bottom of the VFS Post. Thanks to our new webmaster, Warren Logan, we are finally set up to allow comments.
If reading this, please reply to let me know you received this drone and comment post. Also indicate; did you receive the paper version DVM360? Did you notice the article there? Any thoughts on the content? Do you think DVM360 should run a series of “Future of Veterinary Medicine” articles?
Rolan
I especially liked the picture of the equine vet launching the drone. It really creates a nice visual on future practical application.
Thank you for the pictures and that great article. Would love to see it as part of a series about the future of veterinary medicine. Dvm360 is a wonderful source of information that everyday clinicians can use to move the profession forward