**<First Bastion News Archive - Article 244123942>**
**Article Title:** Akkadi Manufacturing unveils new heavy-duty medical drone
**Author:** Tyson Tenpenny
**Publisher:** The First Bastion Chronicle
**Date of publication:** [DATA MISSING OR CORRUPT: CONTACT SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR]
**Link to article:** [DATA MISSING OR CORRUPT: CONTACT SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR]
**Topics:** Akkadi Manufacturing, Oasis Medical Group, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Medicine, Technology
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In a press conference this weekend, Akkadi Manufacturing (¢AKDI) announced that their ongoing partnership with Oasis Medical Group (¢OASIS) has come to fruition. The V-88 Autonomous Paramedic Drone (nicknamed "Valkyrie" by Akkadi Manufacturing) was shown off to investors and press members at the conference, which was also streamed live online.
Roland Akkadi Sr., CEO of Akkadi Manufacturing spoke with the Chronicle about this new technology in an exclusive interview.
Designed as a first responder for combat zones and areas of civil unrest, the Valkyrie drone boasts a hardened chassis resistant to small arms fire, as well as limited weapon capabilities for self defense. Each drone includes state-of-the-art medical supplies for first aid, as well as an integrated defibrillator. Akkadi also demonstrated the experimental BioChem Restoration Matrix they showed off at last year's press conference, which allows the drone to be repaired in the field using standardized healing magic and medserums. But the drone's medical technology isn't what Akkadi Sr. is the most proud of.
"The V-88 marks our first public release of an autonomous drone that can actually use magic. It's something we've been working on for a while, and we're excited to see how it does on the street. Having access to both mundane and magical healing has really elevated the V-88's performance in our tests, not to mention the versatility it has in the field. We're breaking a lot of new ground here, and I believe we've only just scratched the surface of what can be done," said Akkadi Sr. Indeed, the Valkyrie drones are capable of using healing magic, not unlike the kind used by some clerics of the Church of the Golden Coin. When the Chronicle reached out to ask a representative of the Church how they felt about this development, they declined to comment.
Despite its alleged usefulness, Akkadi Sr. doesn't expect to see the technology used in most of their products going forward. "I obviously can't go into the specifics of how the Restoration Matrix or their magical ability works - trade secret, and all - but what I can say is that producing them is a very complex and expensive process. You can't just crank out these things in batches. You really have to think about what the drone is going to be used for, and if this will actually make it more effective. We'll probably only see these in our really high grade products, like bodyguard drones in Second Sphere."
As for the timeline? "We're expecting to see this project out on the street, assisting the brave men and women of our Security Force within a year," claimed Akkadi Sr. "We've got one thousand units in production that we're planning to deploy within Second Sphere by next month, and we'll have another five hundred across Babel by the end of the year."
The Valkyrie is Akkadi's first foray into the field of medical robotics, but not into autonomous drones. "Our core focus is still on the peacekeeping drones we produce for the Security Force. And we've definitely learned a lot from our previous releases, gathered a lot of data, all to make our new products even better. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the help of all the great people at Oasis Medical Group. Their expertise is what really makes this project work."
Not everyone is as excited about this new product, though. One viewer on the stream asked "why the ---- does a nurse robot need a gun and armor" and another viewer expressed misgivings on the drone's reliability: "I saw the Auto-Doc scene in Terminal Illness 3, no way I'm letting this thing operate on me". Akkadi Sr. believes the fears are unfounded.
"The V-88 is designed for dangerous situations like toxic chemical spills or active riots, places where we couldn't send a live paramedic. The EMP shielding, the bulletproof armor, it's all there to protect what's frankly a very expensive investment. And as for the software, this is by far our most advanced Class-2 artificial intelligence yet. It has several years and several million credits worth of advancements in AI technology behind it. You don't have to worry about going haywire with a bonesaw or anything," joked Akkadi Sr., referencing the aforementioned scene from Terminal Illness 3.
The Valkyrie drones will only be available to the Security Force and Oasis Medical Group. Civilian models are not currently planned.
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