California teen develops drone rescue system to help first responders
By Bella Barbosa
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GRASS VALLEY, California (KHSL) — At just 18-years-old, Lev Weisswasser is working to build a drone rescue system to help first responders during emergencies.
“I’m going to try to do something exceptional,” Weisswasser said.
Weisswasser has always had big dreams, inspired by Iron Man when he was a child to build gadgets, even attempting to code and build his own jetpack at the age of 10.
“This is my first gyroscope that I built when I was 10,” Weisswasser said. “I keep this as like knowledge that I used to be Iron Man,” he joked.
In his senior year of high school, Weisswasser juggled five AP classes, his involvement in school leadership, and working as a whitewater kayak guide.
Now when he isn’t taking calls from NASA or other industry leaders, he spends his free time in his family’s garage working on drones.
In January, Weisswasser decided to take his passion for drones to the next level, taking another step towards fulfilling a lifelong dream of using drones to help people. Weisswasser says the death of a close friend and mentor in a kayaking accident motivated him to build an autonomous drone rescue system called Winter.
Weisswasser said he thinks Winter could be a tool for EMS to improve response times in difficult to reach areas.
As a kayak guide, Weisswasser says he has seen multiple incidents where the assistance of a drone like Winter would have been crucial.
“Its perfect purpose is to go in the hard-to-reach places,” Weisswasser said.
The software for Winter has been fully developed and tested through a simulator, but he is still working to get the funds necessary to build a prototype of the drone, which will be four times as large as the drone he showed Action News Now.
Using thermal imaging, Weisswasser says Winter can identify a person, and once it is built, it can carry and deliver anything from water to even an AED to first responders or people in remote locations at risk of having a medical emergency.
Weisswasser will be heading to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo this fall, where he says he is excited to continue his passion for aerospace engineering.
For more information about how you can support Weisswasser in building Winter, click here.
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