Welcome to our second blog post of the week! Today, we are discussing the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in autonomous vehicles in the Healthcare sector. Displacement of services is a common challenge within healthcare facilities where accessibility, signposting patients to additional services, supply of medicine to the patient and timing of interventions in an emergency are some of the most important issues impacting patients’ welfare. Those suffering from mobility impairments and other disabilities often struggle to access relevant departments in a hospital or health centre where consultations, examinations and surgeries take place (Baltazar et al., 2021). But what if we could use Artificial Intelligence to solve the challenges in a “smart” way? Below are the latest advancements in healthcare autonomous vehicles (AVs) that could be availed of in this setting. The standard solution to the mobility problem would be the use of a wheelchair which is classified as level zero of automation since the operator is in sole control of the vehicle (Norton, 2020). Today, advancing wheelchair prototypes have progressed from zero-automation to fully self-driving AVs which are aided by sensor technology, autonomous and shared-control navigation, and cameras (Desai, Mantha and Phalle, 2017). They operate on gaze control through facial recognition and deep learning. Other autonomous models rely on location via mapping and are self-driving using cameras and LiDAR to create three-dimensional models of nearby objects to avoid obstacles and provide accurate depth perception (Jayaprakash, 2018). Image Source: https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/panasonic-self-driving-wheelchair/ (Mogg, 2017) Recently, AI has also contributed to the response to the pandemic exacerbated issue of prevention of the spread of contagious diseases (Navya, 2020) with AI driven shuttles as well as fully electric Robo-Ride medical vehicles (Azfamily, 2021). While these improve patients’ experience of transport to healthcare facilities, aerial UAVs eliminate another transportation challenge by delivering patients their medication and therefore relieving them from travel. The autonomous drone carries blood and test samples as well as medicines and biologicals to and from remote health centers inside a Smart Capsule (Amicone et al., 2021) which, having both humidity and temperature sensors, is suitable to carry any medical product. This is a cost saving measure that is likely to reduce transport costs by at least 28% and delivery time by 80%, while alleviating the need for additional blood bank facilities. What about tackling the inefficiency of emergency services when urgently needed? Providing efficient emergency services to those in need has been the subject of trials using autonomous aerial drone-based ambulances by companies such as EHang. These flying ambulances could pass traffic and provide a very efficient medical service during an emergency (DigitalMediaCanada, 2019). On the ground level, Volkswagen have created an autonomous vehicle known as the “ID. BUZZ AD” to serve the community as an autonomous ambulance (Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge, 2021). Image Source: https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-news/2025-volkswagen-id-buzz-autonomous-ambulance-imagined (Quick, 2021) Autonomous vehicles in the healthcare sector are constantly improving and adapting. Even though many of those are early in their development, they already exist in our society, and will only become more accessible in the near future. One might argue the use of AI driven vehicles might negatively affect employment in the healthcare sector. Recent research has proven this to be a misconception and that humans have qualities and abilities which AI is unlikely to replace (Cremer and Kasparov, 2021). While we must acknowledge the efficiency that comes with autonomous vehicles (Manyika et al., 2017), at the current stage of AI development, they are likely to support rather than replace humans working in the healthcare sector. Stay tuned to our blog and learn about other interesting applications of AI in our society. We would appreciate your insights down below and follow us on our social media channels for regular updates. REFERENCES Amicone, D., Cannas, A., Marci, A. and Tortora, G. (2021) ‘A Smart Capsule Equipped with Artificial Intelligence for Autonomous Delivery of Medical Material through Drones’, applied sciences, 11(17), pp. 1-13. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/17/7976 [Accessed 25 February 2022]. Azfamily (2021) City of Peoria brings back driverless medical shuttles. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ek-oyTKQ24 [Accessed 27 February 2022]. Baltazar, A.R., Petry, M.R., Silva, M.F., and Moreira, A.P. (2021) ‘Autonomous wheelchair for patient’s transportation on healthcare institutions’, SN Applied Sciences, 3(3), pp. 354. Cremer, D.D. and Kasparov, G. (2021) AI Should Augment Human Intelligence, Not Replace It. Available at: https://www.daviddecremer.com/wp-content/uploads/HBR2021_AI-Should-Augment-Human-Intelligence-Not-Replace-It.pdf [Accessed 26 February 2022]. Desai, S., Mantha, S.S. and Phalle, V.M. (2017) ‘Advances in Smart Wheelchair Technology’, 2017 International Conference on Nascent Technologies in Engineering (ICNTE), pp. 1–7. DigitalMediaCanada (2019) Flight of the World's First Passenger Drone, the Ehang 184 on Dec. 24, 2018. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU-qnOprU9k [Accessed 25 February 2022]. EHang (2020) EHang Joins International Project to Develop Air Ambulance. Available at: https://www.ehang.com/news/685.html [Accessed 25 February 2022]. Jayaprakash, N.T. (2018) Destination selection using deep learning for an autonomous wheelchair navigation indoor environment. Available at: https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/k930bx71s?locale=en [Accessed 25 February 2022]. Manyika, J., Chui, M., Miremadi, M., Bughin, J., George, K., Willmott, P. and Dewhurst, M. (2017) ‘A future that works: AI, Automation, Employment, and Productivity’, Open Access Library Journal, 5(9), Scientific Research. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/Digital%20Disruption/Harnessing%20automation%20for%20a%20future%20that%20works/MGI-A-future-that-works-Executive-summary.ashx [Accessed 26 February 2022]. Mogg, T. (2017) Panasonic’s self-driving wheelchairs are now trundling around a Tokyo airport. Available at: https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/panasonic-self-driving-wheelchair/ [Accessed 26 February 2022]. Navya (2020) NAVYA, Beep & JTA Autonomous Shuttles Help Transport COVID-19 Tests at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9V7Qr6tHUc [Accessed 25 February 2022]. Norton, B.E. (2020) Autonomous Shuttles in Santa Fe Springs. Available at: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1240&context=crpsp [Accessed 25 February 2022]. Quick, J. (2021) '2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz autonomous ambulance imagined', CarExpert, 18 October. Available at: https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-news/2025-volkswagen-id-buzz-autonomous-ambulance-imagined [Accessed 25 February 2022]. Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge (2021) VWN at the ITS World Congress 2021: Get a glimpse into the future of mobility! Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhgPI-hetKQ&t=207s [Accessed 2 March 2022].
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