Autonomous Support for Disaster Lifesaver ASDL (concept design)

(Image credit: Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory, Georgia Tech)

ASDL (concept design)
Autonomous Support for Disaster Lifesaver (team)
Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory
Georgia Tech
Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Autonomous Support for Disaster Lifesaver 
www.asdl.gatech.edu/news/021225_goaero

Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory at Georgia Tech
www.asdl.gatech.edu

A team of graduate students formed the Autonomous Support for Disaster Lifesaver at Georgia Tech's Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory for the GoAERO competition. The team designed an emergency rescue electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) multicopter aircraft (concept design) for the competition. The team's name is called the Autonomous Support for Disaster Lifesaver and the team's multicopter aircraft is called by the acronym of the team's name, the ASDL. The aerospace department at Georgia Tech (Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory) also has the same acronym. The team won the GoAERO Stage 1 award and was one of 14 NASA University Innovation Award winners.

Team members included, Carl Johnson (team lead), Hussein Ali, Qixun Li, Nathnael Geneti, Ariadne Papamichou, Nada Himdi, Jocelyn Mendoza, Kevin Florian, Tavish Pattanayak, Salma Walker and Petros Famellos. Team member Salma Walker, a licensed pilot from Los Angeles, was inspired to participate in the GoAERO competition from her position that there is a critical need for evacuation vehicles capable of operating in hazardous environments where sending in a pilot would be too dangerous. The team was divided into areas of expertise with some members focusing on payloads, others on autonomy, others on systems, others on materials and so on. 

ASDL passenger eVTOL multicopter aircraft (concept design)
The ASDL (Autonomous Support for Disaster Lifesaver) is an autonomous one person eVTOL multicopter aircraft. The aircraft can carry a paramedic to the scene of an accident and carry required medical equipment and medicine. Then once landed, the paramedic can provide first aid to the patient and load the patient onto the multicopter and fly the patient to a waiting ambulance or hospital.

Few specifications have been published online by the team; however, it can be estimated the maximum payload weight of the aircraft is in the range of 250-300 pounds (91-136 kg). The multicopter has six propellers, six electric motors and is powered by batteries. The fuselage is made from carbon fiber composite to give the aircraft a high strength to low weight ratio. The aircraft has been designed so it can be transported in a standard pick-up truck. The multicopter has fixed skid landing gear.

It was reported the team built a subscale prototype but it is unknown if the prototype flew successfully due to no online articles or web pages about the prototype.

About the GoAERO Prize Competition
The GoAERO Prize, sponsored by Boeing, is a three year competition (2024-2027) offering over $2 million USD in prizes that challenges engineers worldwide to create portable, versatile and autonomy-enabled Emergency Response Aircraft that address not only everyday medical emergencies but also to be used in natural disasters, humanitarian emergencies and climate crises worldwide. Each team designs and builds autonomous Emergency Response aircraft capable of delivering a first responder, medical equipment and supplies and ultimately evacuating victims in need to a rescue ambulance or hospital.

More than 150 teams from around the globe are competing for the GoAero prizes. The GoFly and GoAERO prizes were developed by Boeing and other organizations to help the nascent advanced air mobility (AAM) industry move forward.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Passenger eVTOL multicopter (concept design)
• Piloting: Autonomous
• Capacity: 1 patient
• Cruise speed: Unknown
• Maximum payload weight: ~250-300 pounds (~91-136 kg)
• Propellers: 6 propellers
• Electric motors: 6 electric motors
• Power source: Battery packs
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Windows: Open patient area
• Landing gear: Fixed skid landing gear with two front fixed bogie wheels
• Safety features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) uses multiple propellers or electric ducted fans, each powered by electric motors, to increase safety through redundancy. If one or more components fail, the remaining ones can still ensure a safe landing. There are also redundancies of critical components in the sub-systems of the aircraft providing safety through redundancy. Having multiple redundant systems on any aircraft decreases having any single point of failure. The aircraft has no moving surfaces or tilting parts when transitioning from vertical to forward flight and the reverse which increases safety by reducing complexity.

Resources:

• Autonomous Support for Disaster Lifesaver article
• Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory website
• Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory Facebook
• Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory Instagram
• Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory X (Formerly Twitter)
• Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory LinkedIn
• Article: GoAERO Launches $2M+ VTOL Challenge, Electric VTOL News, Feb. 12, 2024
• Article: Stage 1 Winners, GoAero, Feb. 11, 2025
• Article: GoAERO Announces Eleven Stage 1 Winners, Aero News Network, Feb. 16, 2025
• Article: GoAERO Global Emergency Response Flyer Competition Announces $500,000 of Awards to Innovators Worldwide with Support from Boeing, NASA, RTX, and Honeywell, GoAero, Feb. 18, 2025
• Article: GoAERO Awards $500,000 to Stage 1 Teams, Vertiflite Magazine, Mar/Apr 2025
• Article: Meet the Teams: ASDL of Georgia Tech, GoAERO, Mar. 3, 2025
• Article: GoAERO Competition Promotes Creation of Automatic Lifesavers, Flying Magazine, Nov. 17, 2025