UK companies use space to combat COVID-19
Electric drones carrying blood samples, COVID-19 test kits and personal protective equipment are set to take to the skies. The fleet is one of three space-based measures designed to relieve pressure on the NHS and to boost remote education.
The projects are being funded by the UK Space Agency in collaboration with ESA.
The drones will be used to deliver medical supplies by a small start-up company called Apian that was founded by two trainee medics as part of the NHS’s clinical entrepreneur programme.
Apian uses satellite communication to establish a network of secure air corridors for the drones. Using drones avoids courier call-out waiting times, frees up NHS staff, reduces unnecessary physical contact and minimises the risk of secondary transmission of the virus.
The project is based at Broomfield Hospital, part of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.
UK Science Minister Amanda Solloway said: “The efforts of the UK’s space sector to support our incredible NHS during the COVID-19 pandemic have been truly inspirational.
“The projects we are backing today are fantastic examples of how our leading space scientists are supporting those directly on the frontline to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.”
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The UK Space Agency and ESA are also backing DriverNet, which aims to reduce the carbon emissions, air pollution and expense caused by people travelling to and from medical appointments.
Patients and carers travel 6.7 billion road miles per year to attend NHS appointments. The mobile app could halve this number. It uses artificial intelligence to group people by their ‘geolocation’ – their mobile phone location triangulated by satellites. It encourages safe transport sharing, with passengers wearing face coverings and sanitising their hands regularly. The app could also help reduce the 15 million missed NHS appointments each year.
The system will help reduce the need for costly private ambulances and taxis, which can increase health inequalities, and offer NHS workers and patients a notification when shuttle services are available in their area.
A third project to have won funding provides online learning for students of Earth observation science, who are poised to become the next generation of climate change specialists, weather forecasters and digital pioneers.
Led by the University of Edinburgh, the collaboration builds on the Earth Blox (Quosient Ltd) cloud-based software for harnessing planetary-scale satellite intelligence to provide distance-learning support.
Earth observation courses involve frequently being in a laboratory and completing practical exercises, and this funding will help make this possible from home – providing students at four participating universities with remote access to vast quantities of satellite data.
The projects – set to receive £1.3m of funding – have been selected as part of a joint initiative between the UK Space Agency and ESA, which has already provided one round of funding in July, worth £1.1 million, to companies developing space-based solutions for issues created by the coronavirus pandemic.
Initial funding went to three initiatives, including a drones company delivering test kits in Scotland.
Even before the pandemic, space was playing an important role in supporting healthcare initiatives. Last year the UK Space Agency and ESA provided £5 million for new health technologies inspired by working in space to support NHS England.
These included providing real-time diagnosis of bowel cancer, developing more compact 3D X-ray machines and a mobile app that provided exercise plans free from air pollution for those with medical conditions such as asthma.
Emily Gravestock, Head of Applications Strategy at the UK Space Agency, said: “Once again, the UK space industry has risen to the challenge. The variety of innovative solutions continues to impress me and I look forward to seeing how satellite applications built by UK industry can improve healthcare services, reduce carbon emissions and enhance education.”
Nick Appleyard, Head of ESA Space Solutions at ESA’s European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications in Oxfordshire, said: “In 2020 we all saw the critical importance of rapid and efficient healthcare operations so, at ESA and the UK Space Agency, we asked the space applications industry to think how they could help.
“Much space-enabled technology removes the need to move people, whether this is patients, healthcare practitioners or couriers. Instead, we can use drones to move samples and equipment, or satellites to move information to reach even the most isolated communities at a speed that was impossible until now. Even when patients do need to attend hospital appointments, moving information using satellites enables them to do so in a cheaper and more environmentally friendly manner.
"Space technology will allow our health services to save more lives.”