Currently, there are three variations of the Ambular design. The first version, Ambular 1.0 (fitted with six ducted fans), can carry a single patient while Ambular 2.0 (four unducted fans at low level) can carry a patient and a paramedic. A larger version, the Ambular 3.0 (four unducted fans at high level) can carry one patient and two paramedics. There is also a design for a small Ambular quadcopter drone which can carry medical supplies.
Concept video of an Ambular 2.0 about to receive a stretcher; in autonomous flight. Ambular/Martin RicoLooking at the wider picture
As the volunteers from ICAO started to look at the Ambular concept, they realised that developing the idea into the real world would involve more than just creating the flying platform but would also include factors such as international standards, safety and public acceptance.
Because there are so many different aspects to consider, the volunteers from ICAO have enlisted the support of a number of other international project partners. These currently include ICAO, Imaginactive, Concordia University in Canada, CASRI – The Second Research Institute of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Chinese eVTOL manufacturer EHang.
The Ambular team is keen to stress that development of the flying ambulance involves a very different approach than the development of a commercial eVTOL platform. Ambular is not a commercial product, nor a corporation and it has no stakeholder or investors but is being worked on by a group of volunteers with a shared set of values and design philosophy. Participants in the project can be from anywhere in the world who will discuss and share their knowledge.
Partner projects
There are four main areas of study – technical, social, legal and medical. In a presentation at GUAS 2.0 at FIAConnect in August, three participants in the Ambular project explained the different elements that they were currently working on. The Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science at Concordia University Institute for Aerospace Design and Innovation is working on designing optimal trajectories to transport patients from home to hospital, while the Aerodynamics and Acoustics Facility at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is developing a scale wind tunnel model for aerodynamic testing. Meanwhile, CASR, which specialises in UAS traffic management systems, is simulating flights of the Ambular using its VR/Simulator.
The Ambular 1.0, Ambular 2.0 and Ambular 3.0 designs. Ambular
Ethical philosophy
Another area where the Ambular project differs from a commercial development is one of philosophy and ethics. Because Ambular is a healthcare project, it has to be consistent with adherence to the Hippocratic Oath for medical professionals (including doing no harm, respecting confidentiality and to share new knowledge), as well as the Archimedean Oath for engineers and scientists (including respecting human rights and the environment, recognising responsibility for actions and sharing information of importance to society). Participants in the Ambular project are required to comply with four principles – environmental accountability, social responsibility, data stewardship and open sources.
Before any decision is made during design, development and operation, its environmental impact will be assessed and no action will be taken if a more environmentally-friendly option is available. Regarding data ownership and stewardship, team members are not to collect any information which could lead to the identification of a particular person – except where it is needed for medical purposes, in which case the data will be collected and managed by the medical system and will not be accessible or transmittable outside of it.
Because project volunteers are all working towards a common objective, any intellectual property developed by any member of the team should be shared for free by any other member of the team.
Keep it simple
As the Ambular is being designed to be as affordable to as wide a community as possible, the design follows a number of principles:
- to be simple with the minimum number of parts, to be affordable and cost no more to operate than a conventional ambulance
- to be supply chain-resilient and be made from off-the-shelf products not dependant on one producer
- to be locally maintainable anywhere in any city in the world › to be open-sourced so that others can easily design extensions to it
- to be modular with interchangeable parts
- to have ‘dual use’ so that the Ambular can be used not only as a flying ambulance but also for use in disaster relief
These principles will also take into account factors regarding safety, security and data protection.
Ambular precursor designs Far left upper: Track-ER motorised stretcher. Lower; Babylon Project medivac motorbike. Main middle image: Ambular project partner CASRI is experienced in UAS air traffic management. Above upper: EHang 184 eVTOL. Lower: Design for a smaller Ambular medical supplies drone.
Design priorities
To find out more about the project, AEROSPACE talked to Yuri Fattah, Programme Manager Multidisciplinary Priorities at ICAO and also the Ambular Team Lead Guide.
AEROSPACE: There are current three Ambular designs being proposed to carry a patient with one or two paramedics (plus a medical supplies quadcopter UAV). Is there a particular design which is being given priority to develop?
Yuri: The priority is on the use case for carrying the patient. The other concepts were developed when some team members wanted to think about how the current pandemic situation could be addressed. As we are a project of volunteers (and perhaps even if we were not), we do encourage team members to think about how some of what they have learnt might be applied to more pressing matters. That does introduce some scope creep but allows for more creative and motivational energy. But yes, the critical path is on the patient carrying use case.
Our intention is to go through the experience as any start-up would when trying to make its dream a reality. There are some key differences: for example, we cannot bring the product to market. However, we hope that the pursuit of building the Ambular will serve as inspiration for our colleagues and the wider aviation community as we engage in the process of figuring out how to unleash the potential of eVTOLs on improving peoples’ quality of life. The Ambular is a project run by volunteers – and we encourage those who are interested to contact us so we can look into how they can be part of this.
Operation and maintenance
AEROSPACE: How will those people responsible for maintaining and operating the Ambular be trained?
Yuri: The Ambular project will develop a training regime for all those involved from the flight operator, to the medical crew, to the urban planners. The idea is to apply a system-wide, competency-based, approach. This is helped by having 3D interactive simulations of the Ambular from the early stages of the development. Currently, the team is using Unreal Engine to do this but we also have partners who are putting digital twins of the Ambular in their simulators that have realistic physics engines.
Clockwise from top left: Participants in the Ambular project next to the Ambular 2.0 mock-up on display at ICAO headquarters on 7 December 2019. From left to right: Ruichun Lin (ICAO); Charles Bombardier; ICAO Secretary General, Dr Fang Liu; Air Navigation Bureau Director, Stephen P. Creamer; Ambular Team Lead, Yuri Fattah; and Martin Rico (Conceptual Design Assistant, Future Aviation, ICAO). Ambular Team Lead Guide Yuri Fattah. Charles Bombardier, President of Imaginactive.
Certification
AEROSPACE: If the Ambular is to be made from off-the-shelf products sourced from a variety of suppliers, how will the vehicle obtain flight certification from competent authorities which will require each part and combination of parts to be tested?
Yuri: This is indeed a key question. The current status quo seems to imply that there will either be only a few suppliers or a very expensive certification process. So, parallel to the development of all other things, we will also work on a testing regime to assist with certification. The focus of the regulator then moves from the certification of the individual combination of parts to the certification of the testing system and regime.
That is much harder to do the first time it is done and, initially, both processes will probably need to run in parallel. Now, having said that, the Ambular project is about getting the community to debate and discuss these issues and to provide proof of concepts through prototyping, simulation and demonstration.
So we won’t have actual Ambulars in operation and can only take this issue so far.
AEROSPACE: If the designs are open sourced so that anyone can modify the design, at what point will the design be finalised so that it can be flight certificated?
Yuri: The aim is to provide a one-quarter scaled operational prototype in the next four to five years. This may be followed by a full-scale prototype after that but, for now, that is not decided.
The design undergoes iterative cycles of about six months with each new version being an attempt to improve on the previous version following a testing regime. For others who want to download the designs and make their own variations, something known in the open source community as ‘branching’, that is OK – and it becomes their own project but with affiliation to the main project.
However, branching in this type of concept is not as easy as it is in software development. So I suspect that, rather than branching, the volunteers will want to participate in the development of the main vehicle.
AEROSPACE: Is there going to be one central co-ordinating group who will check the design for safety and balance the different requirements of the other partners (extra medical equipment vs payload, inexpensive materials vs crash worthiness, etc)
Yuri: Yes and we are finalising the way we will do that co-ordination. This will then be explained in our project document and our prospectus which will shortly be published on our website.
Released for operation
AEROSPACE: If the Ambular is not being made for profit, would it be sold to operators or donated for free?
Yuri: After we create the functioning prototype the project ends and all knowledge that the contributors agreed to keep in the public domain will be left for others who might work on real concepts for the market. Physical assets will be retained by those who had made the contributions but I would not be surprised if it all gets donated.
Become involved
The Ambular project is inviting anyone interested in becoming involved to join as individuals, corporations or institutions. The team is looking to have as wide a range of disciplines as possible working simultaneously on all the issues relating to the Ambular.
Partners can help in three ways:
- Do some of the work, choosing from a list of work packages or suggesting one of their own. These include design, technical, legal issues and business cases.
- Provide resources – including hardware, software and places to display the prototypes.
- Provide funding – this would not go to the Ambular project but directly to institutions or volunteers working on the project.
If you are interested in being part of the Ambular project, then go to Ambular.org or email: contact@ambular.org
The Ambular would be able to fly autonomously through ‘tight and difficult’ urban environments. Ambular/Martin Rico