Providing a medical support device via an unmanned aerial vehicle

A method comprising:

• housing, by a housing system of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a medical-support device;
• receiving, by a computing system of the UAV, a request for assistance at an individual medical situation, wherein the request comprises location data corresponding to a target location;
• determining, by the computing system of the UAV, the target location, wherein the target location is associated with an individual in need of medical assistance;
• navigating, by the computing system of the UAV, the UAV from a remote location to the target location, wherein the UAV navigates to the target location in a forward-flight mode;
• making, by the computing system of the UAV, a determination that the UAV is located at or near to the target location;
• in response to the determination that the UAV is located at or near to the target location, transitioning the UAV into a hover flight mode;
• and
• delivering, by a delivery mechanism, the medical-support device to the target location by lowering the medical-support device towards to a ground, such that the medical-support device is provided for medical assistance to the individual in need of medical assistance, wherein the delivery mechanism comprises a winch system.

A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored therein instructions that are executable to cause a computing device to perform functions comprising:

• receiving a request for assistance at an individual medical situation, wherein the request comprises location data corresponding to a target location;
• determining the target location, wherein the target location is associated with an individual in need of medical assistance;
• using a navigation system to navigate an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from a remote location to the target location, wherein the UAV navigates to the target location in a forward-flight mode;
• making a determination that the UAV is located at or near to the target location;
• in response to the determination that the UAV is located at or near to the target location, transitioning the UAV into a hover flight mode;
• and
• using a delivery mechanism to deliver the medical-support device to the target location by lowering the medical-support device towards a ground, such that the medical support device is provided for medical assistance to the individual in need of medical assistance, wherein the delivery mechanism comprises a winch system.