Tele2 AB (“Tele2”) and the q-trade platform foodora announce today that they will launch food deliveries using IoT and 5G connected drones.

The deliveries will be made wherever possible to the customers’ property or garden and lowered with a cable from the drone, with the first deliveries taking place already in the spring on Värmdö, outside Stockholm.

Now launching foodora Air, which is a fleet of electric drones that, with the help of 5G technology from Tele2, will provide fast and efficient delivery service of food from a number of restaurants on Värmdö, outside Stockholm. Aerit, a technology leader in the drone industry, has developed advanced drones integrated into foodora’s technology platform to create a seamless and efficient delivery experience connected with the latest 5G technology from Tele2.

Stefan Trampus, Executive Vice President B2B at Tele2, says:

“This marks a new era in how people receive deliveries, and we believe we can see more applications in other industries. For us at Tele2, the partnership with foodora is a perfect example of how we can use our 5G connectivity and expertise to drive future delivery services in a simple, sustainable, and smart way, while providing customers with an extraordinary experience.”

The drones have a range of 21 kilometers and emit 2 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, which can be compared to traditional gasoline or diesel-powered delivery vehicles that emit 143 and 110 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, respectively.

“Technology and connectivity have the potential to break many of the limitations that currently exist in rural areas, where access to various services and products has decreased in line with rapid urbanization,” Stefan Trampus concludes.

Deliveries will, where possible, be made directly to customers’ properties or gardens and lowered with a cable from the air. Deliveries will commence in May on Värmdö, and food can be ordered through the foodora app. The goal is to expand to more areas in Sweden so that more locations can have access to the same service available in major cities.

“We are proud to be the first in Europe to launch real drone deliveries, and we are excited to have Tele2 and Aerit as partners on this exciting journey. Fast home deliveries are a democratic issue, in my opinion. Regardless of where you are in the country, it should be possible to quickly get what you need, such as medicines or groceries. It should not only be available to people who have chosen to settle in big cities,” concludes Daniel Gustafsson Raba, Director Operations at foodora.

Tele2 will provide continuous connectivity for the drones based on 5G IoT (Internet of Things) technology. Drones require both short response times and the ability to send and receive large amounts of data to handle deliveries safely, supported by 5G.

Technical information foodora Air:

• Maximum range: 21 kilometers
• Maximum delivery range: 12 kilometers
• Maximum delivery weight: 4 kilograms
• Weather capacity: Can fly in rain, wind, and snow

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• Nokia Drone Networks, available for purchase, lease or one-off flight hire are bundled with compelling services delivering lower cost of ownership so more enterprises and service providers can take advantage of industrial drones.
• Nokia and its partners within the private wireless space, such as DXC Technology, will collaborate with regulators and the industry ecosystem for flight approvals to achieve drone innovation and safety.
• Backed by 4G/LTE and 5G connectivity for safe, reliable and Beyond Visual Line of Sight operations, NDN will allow enterprises to see fastest return on investment, when deployed with Nokia Digital Automation Cloud private wireless-as-a-Service.

Nokia announced the extension of a Drones-as-a-Service partner program with existing private wireless partners to provide Nokia Drone Networks benefits to industries in North America.

Through this collaboration, enterprises and service providers will be able to rapidly realize the capabilities of drones, in a way that meets the needs of their business as well as benefit from new use cases and revenue streams.

Enterprises can opt to purchase the Nokia Drone Networks industrial grade drone-in-a-box solution or minimize upfront capital expense by leasing, sharing or simply hiring drones for one-off or regularly scheduled flights. Nokia and the members of its partner program will offer bundled service packages tailored to the needs of enterprises, including managing data analytics or drone maintenance. The companies will also manage flight scheduling, working with relevant spectrum and airspace regulators to gain approvals, where required.

Drone service providers will benefit from being able to diversify their offering to more industries and realize new revenue streams. This is made possible through Nokia’s commitment to collaborating with industry partners, allowing users to customize the payloads, to meet their business needs.

Companies that choose to deploy or lease Nokia Drone Networks will benefit from an end-to-end solution, which has recently received certification from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for operation in North America.

Nokia Drone Networks uses public and private 4G/LTE and 5G network connectivity for the greatest reliability and safety of Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. Operated remotely for one-off or scheduled flights, the solution benefits from a highly ruggedized docking station that doubles as a recharging station. This makes it possible for enterprises to rely on the solution to realize new efficiencies and capabilities such as surveillance at remote facilities, environmental or stockpile monitoring at a mine, managing inspections in hazardous locations or for public safety search and rescue operations.

Deployed in conjunction with Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) and Nokia MX Industrial Edge at their campus network, enterprises will be able to leverage robust, reliable connectivity, service predictability and the ability to process data obtained from the drones in real-time, on-premises to open the door to an array of innovative use cases and accelerate their return on investment.

Stephan Litjens, Vice President of Enterprise Campus Edge Solutions at Nokia, says: “We are pleased to leverage our existing private wireless partnerships, such as the one with DXC Technology to offer Drones-as-a-Service to the North American market. This allows us to offer our innovative solution in a way that meets the complex needs of any enterprise or industry. Through our work with partners across all regions, we’ll maintain a strong collaboration with spectrum and airspace regulators and the ecosystem to ensure we balance innovation with safety for customer flights.”

While visiting Nokia in Espoo, to witness the Drone use cases firsthand, the DXC Team stated: “We want our customers to book a drone flight with the simplicity of hailing a ride-share. Enterprises will benefit from simplicity, leveraging a complete FCC certified drone-in-a-box solution provided by a single vendor without headaches as we manage the flight approval for them working with the relevant authorities. They can adopt drones however it makes sense for their business. And those that choose to deploy the drone-in-a-box solution alongside Nokia DAC private wireless will leverage the greatest capabilities, unlocking new use cases for the fastest return on investment.”

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• The Nokia Drone Networks platform including 70 Drone-in-a-Box units, will provide secure 5G-connected drone services across Belgium
• Equipped with video and thermal cameras, drones are on stand-by 24/7 and remotely managed from five centralized operations centers
• Real-time, aerial data collection in the critical first minutes supports informed response by emergency services which can receive more than 2 million calls per year

Nokia today announced a first-of-its-kind contract with Belgian telecom operator Citymesh to supply its Nokia Drone Networks platform with 70 Drone-in-a-Box (DiaB) units.

This is enough to blanket Belgium with a 5G automated drone grid that informs and speeds resource mobilization in emergency events.

Branded SENSE by Citymesh, the 70 drones are deployed in 35 emergency zones across the country and will gather information in the critical 15-minute period immediately following a call. This ensures that first responder teams are fully apprised of and equipped to respond to each unique situation.

Belgium’s emergency services can receive more than two million calls a year, and typically police and fire brigades are dispatched with incomplete data that can stymie the efficiency of their response. With Nokia Drone Networks, pilots will be able to operate 24/7 and dispatch drones from docking stations strategically located across the country.

Equipped with high definition and AI-enhanced thermal imaging, drones capture real-time aerial footage – such as smoke plumes, fire parameters, and number/location of people – and transfer it to control centers even before emergency teams have had time to leave. These aerial images are essential to identifying a plan of action that can save lives and limit damage to affected assets and natural resources.

Hans Similon, General Manager, Citymesh Safety Drone, said: “SENSE is a great example of how technology can save lives. We’ve been impressed with Nokia as our partner for reliable wireless connectivity and an outstanding turnkey Drone-in-a-Box solution that we can customize to our specific needs. Together, we’re making Belgium safer and proving just how innovative we are as a nation.”

Thomas Eder, Head of Embedded Wireless Solutions, Nokia, said: “We are proud to be selected by Citymesh as the turnkey 5G Drone-in-a-Box platform provider for SENSE. Our 5G-connected drone platform is a logical extension of our leadership in building nationwide wireless networks.”

“Nokia Drone Networks is a game-changer for operational efficiency of first responders and data security. Enabled by Nokia MX Industrial Edge (MXIE), it ensures that collected data is stored locally and stays under the full control of authorities.”

Nationwide availability of SENSE follows pilot projects in the Fluvia fire brigade in Kortrijk, Brussels Airport Company, Port of Antwerp-Bruges, and the city of Genk, with the support of the Federal Public Service Economy.

The Nokia Drone Networks solution connects to public and private 4G and 5G networks to enhance situational awareness for first responders and other professionals. It can be operated remotely and complies with aviation regulatory bodies such as EASA in Europe and FAA in the United States.

The platform is equipped with a dual gimbal camera, docking station, and edge data processing, and it is supported by an open API framework that allows integration of third-party applications to expand its capabilities for a wider range of use cases.

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• Nokia first to offer CE-certified turnkey automated drone solution, connected over 4G/LTE and 5G, including drones with dual gimbal camera, docking station, and edge data processing.
• Use of Nokia Drone Networks docking station enables 24/7 fully remote drone operations and charging.
• Open API framework allows integration of third-party applications for extensive customization of the solution to expand use cases and capabilities.

Nokia today revealed it is the first to offer a CE-certified, turnkey drone-in-a-box solution, designed to meet the growing demands of organizations including public safety agencies, smart cities, construction, energy and defense.

CE-certified to meet safety requirements of the European Union, the Nokia Drone Networks solution connects over public and private 4G/LTE and 5G networks to enhance situational awareness for first responders and other professionals.

The solution is manufactured in Europe and comprises Nokia drones, docking station, dual gimbal camera and edge cloud processing using Nokia MX Industrial Edge (MXIE). By connecting over public and private 4G/LTE and 5G networks, customers will benefit from the highest reliability. Using cellular connectivity technologies also offers higher data rates and lower latency enabling more data to be streamed than over Wi-Fi. Beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations with real-time kinetic (RTK) positioning improves situational awareness. Dual modem connectivity allows Nokia drones to simultaneously connect to multiple networks, complying with system redundancy that is commonly required by aviation regulatory bodies.

The Nokia Drone Networks solution can be operated remotely for search and rescue activities, and to assess damage in a hazardous environment. Nokia drones can also be programmed to manage autonomous scheduled flights for applications like additional security at large events or to manage regular remote equipment inspections. The docking station protects the drone and payload, such as the sensor devices or dual gimbal camera, from external hazards and harsh weather while it remotely charges the drone to prepare for the next flight.

When used in conjunction with Nokia MXIE, data from Nokia drones can be collected and processed in real time at the edge cloud. An open API framework allows agencies and enterprises to onboard pre-integrated Nokia and third-party applications and systems and take advantage of a growing number of compelling public safety and Industry 4.0 use cases for drone automation, including object identification, tracking and network measurements

Nokia and the New York Power Authority have already demonstrated the use of the Nokia Drone Networks solution, connected over private LTE, for transmission line inspection.

Thomas Eder, Head of Embedded Wireless Solutions at Nokia, said:

“Our mission is to reshape the industrial UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) market, providing enhanced situational awareness to aid search and rescue, surveillance, and other UAV operations in a wide variety of industries.”

“Nokia Drone Networks has been designed to comply with the remote operation requirements of aviation regulatory bodies such as EASA in Europe and FAA in the United States. This will help us address growing market demands as a turnkey provider with a solution designed and produced in Europe. The unique feature set enabling the integration of Nokia drones with third-party applications will aid the transformation of the drones, allowing them to be used as a flying data collection platform leveraging reliable 4G and 5G edge cloud connectivity.”

Depending on the deployed configuration, Nokia drones offer more than 50 minutes of flight time and cover distances of more than 30 km due to the unique hardware architecture, integrated software innovations and the 4G/5G connectivity.

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Industrial Spraying Drones + IoT connectivity can reduce risk and cut costs for exterior cleaning.

What’s the news: Lucid Drone Technologies has chosen T-Mobile as the exclusive provider of IoT connectivity and management for their growing fleet of industrial spraying drones that provide commercial cleaning services.

Why it matters: Maintenance teams that wash exterior windows and perform exterior cleaning of commercial facilities face risk of injury and high insurance and equipment fees. Drone technology, paired with T-Mobile’s industry-leading network, has the power to help keep these people safe and save money.

Who it’s for: Property management and facility maintenance firms and companies looking for IoT solutions to deliver real-world benefits and improve customer experiences.

Today, T-Mobile announced that Lucid Drone Technologies has chosen the Un-carrier to be the exclusive provider of IoT connectivity and management for their fleet of industrial spraying drones.

Together, Lucid Drone Technologies and T-Mobile are collaborating to put maintenance teams and exterior cleaning companies out of harm’s way using drone technology for high-risk facilities maintenance work like exterior soft-wash cleaning and high-rise window washing. The companies also plan to leverage T-Mobile’s industry-leading 5G network in the future to fly drones beyond line-of-sight and power more data-intensive capabilities like video streaming.

A game changer for safety of maintenance teams

Commercial property management firms and developers make significant investments to keep maintenance teams safe. Expensive liability insurance premiums and equipment fees have facilities leaders looking for new and cost-effective solutions. Enter industrial spraying drone pioneer Lucid Drone Technologies and the Un-carrier to deliver a game changer — drones equipped to clean exterior building surfaces and windows.

The next generation of Lucid Drone Technologies industrial spraying drones, powered by T-Mobile for Business, can perform exterior washing for commercial building surfaces and windows, including outdoor stadiums and arenas, hotels, and university structures. That means maintenance teams can steer clear of some high-risk tasks, keeping them safer and focused on other mission critical work.

IoT driving the future of industrial spraying drone technology

T-Mobile’s network powers critical capabilities for Lucid Drone Technologies industrial spraying drones such as real-time sharing of flight data, battery utilization information, hardware diagnostics, and delivery of firmware and software updates. Additionally, T-Mobile Control Center will give Lucid Drone Technologies the ability to view and manage the connectivity of their industrial spraying drones. With the automation and provisioning capabilities of T-Mobile’s IoT platform, Lucid Drone Technologies can easily accelerate deployment of their growing fleet. Lucid Drone Technologies will have near real-time visibility to all their industrial spraying drones with the ability to monitor network conditions and device behavior with T-Mobile Control Center.

Initially, T-Mobile for Business will deliver 4G LTE connectivity to Lucid Drone Technologies industrial spraying drones, providing a reliable connection nationwide. Lucid Drone Technologies expects to utilize the Un-carrier’s 5G network in the near future for advanced use cases such as network operations center access, live streaming video and remote piloting. As Americas largest and fastest 5G network, T-Mobile is poised to push IoT to its full potential and catapult adoption — paving the way for new drone applications that rely on low-latency, high-speed data, and real-time location and proximity-based services.

“At Lucid Drone Technologies, we are committed to providing robotic solutions that allow our customers to complete jobs that were once dull, dirty, and dangerous in a safer, faster, and smarter way,” said Andrew Ashur, CEO, Lucid Drone Technologies.

“T-Mobile not only allows us to provide our customers with the highest quality of real-time support and connectivity today, but they also have impressive 5G capabilities that allow us to push the frontier limits of responsible robotics.”

“Lucid Drone Technologies is a great example of a customer using originality and new technology to solve complicated problems,” said Callie Field, President, T-Mobile Business Group. “It’s not very often that you get to collaborate with these kinds of thinkers, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to offer our technology to help bring their vision to life.”

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“Operators can generate revenue from cellular drones by providing enhanced connectivity and support services; they can also benefit by developing and showcasing their 5G and edge capabilities.”

Cellular drones represent a new revenue opportunity for operators. The total value chain revenue generated by cellular connected drones worldwide will be more than USD8 billion in 2030, according to Analysys Mason’s cellular drones forecast, and USD1.5 billion of this will come from connectivity.¹

The cellular drones opportunity is not particularly large (cellular drones will account for less than 10% of the total IoT connectivity revenue in 2030) and there is no real threat to operators who do not enter the market, but those that do have the opportunity to develop new capabilities such as 5G and edge computing.

Countries with mature IoT markets, such as China and USA, will drive the adoption of cellular drones

Cellular drone activity varies significantly by region and country due to the following factors.

• IoT adoption. The demand for cellular drones is higher in countries with mature IoT markets because enterprises are already familiar with using cellular connectivity solutions and are aware of its benefits. Some operators and enterprises in these countries are already showing interest in cellular drone solutions and have started to conduct trials.

• Business case. Cellular connectivity is deployed more widely in developed markets in which deploying drones provides a significant cost saving (for example, compared to manual inspections and truck rolls).

• Regulation. Drone regulation differs from country to country. The speed at which regulations are developed also varies. Many countries have yet to define the regulatory framework for beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLoS) flights.

The USA and China will be the largest markets for cellular drones worldwide in 2030. Indeed, North America will account for 36% of the total cellular drone revenue worldwide in 2030, driven primarily by the logistics sector in the USA, where firms such as Amazon, DHL and UPS are already active in the drones space. The market in China will benefit from both the early entry of the Chinese MNOs (which cite drones as a key 5G use case) and the local presence of numerous drone manufacturers (including DJI, the market leader).

Operators can offer enhanced connectivity services to increase the connectivity ARPC

Figure 1 shows the connectivity revenue generated by cellular drones worldwide, which will increase from USD11.1 million in 2020 to USD1.5 billion in 2030. Cellular drones produce far more data traffic than typical IoT connections and therefore generate a considerably higher average revenue per connection (ARPC).

Operators will generate drone-related connectivity revenue from selling various services, such as:

• basic drone tracking
• the provision of a connectivity link to an unmanned aircraft systems traffic management (UTM)² system to enable command-and-control (C2)
• routing services to ensure flight path adherence
• real-time transfer of the data generated by the drone payload. Payloads can include HD, 4K and/or thermal cameras and sensors (such as LiDAR systems, which use lasers to determine variable distances). Drones with these payloads are more likely to use 5G due to their need for large amounts of data and low latency.

The exact revenue generated will vary according to the use case and enterprises’ needs. For example, not all drones will transmit data in real time; some will instead upload data via Wi-Fi or a fixed connection once they have returned to the depot, and will therefore only require C2 connectivity.

Operators that wish to move up the drones value chain will need to use partnerships or acquisitions

Some operators will choose to focus solely on the connectivity aspect of drones. However, operators with a greater appetite for risk may pursue other revenue opportunities, including the following.

• Hardware. Telecoms operators do not typically operate or own a fleet of drones. They instead work with customers who have their own drones, or provide drones via a preferred hardware provider. Some operators may also partner with hardware providers to offer a joint go-to-market solution. For instance, Celcom Malaysia partnered with Aerodyne to integrate connectivity into Aerodyne’s drone portfolio.

• Support services. Vodafone and Telefónica are acting as supplemental data service providers (SDSPs) and are providing support services such as flight authorisation, permit handling and data off-loading. BT and Verizon are providing professional services such as security assessments and are designing drone solutions for enterprises.

• Platform services. These include fleet management platforms for predicative maintenance or data visualisation platforms for post-flight analysis.

A select few operators, including Deutsche Telekom and Verizon, are generating additional revenue by moving further up the drone value chain. These operators have acquired and partnered with aviation specialists, respectively (Skyward in the case of Verizon and DFS in the case of Deutsche Telekom); they will act as U-space service providers (USSPs) and will take responsibility for the management of a given drone airspace (known as U-space).

The experience gained by developing drone solutions will provide other benefits for operators

The most significant revenue opportunities related to cellular drones will only be available to operators that provide services to the aviation sector beyond simple connectivity. However, many lack experience in this sector. The most ambitious operators will use acquisitions or partnerships to develop the necessary competencies, but they will be in the minority.

However, drones still represent an interesting opportunity for other operators. They can use the drone market to develop and showcase their 5G and edge computing capabilities, or to develop new capabilities that they may have little experience with in the IoT realm (such as professional services). Drones are also highly marketable and operators may use them to improve their brand and achieve their ambition of becoming known as data service and platform providers rather than simply providers of connectivity.

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Swoop Aero leverages KORE satellite connectivity and eSIM technology to deliver vaccines and medical supplies in remote and rural parts of the world.

KORE, a global leader in Internet of Things solutions and worldwide Connectivity-as-a-Service, will showcase the innovative enablement of IoT connectivity that is making it possible for Australian drone-powered logistics company Swoop Aero to transport COVID-19 vaccines into isolated areas of the world.

Swoop Aero’s air logistics solution enables the reliable transport of medical commodities, including early pathology samples, diagnosis kits, antiretroviral therapy medication and vitamins across Malawi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique as well as Australia, the United Kingdom and the Pacific. This effort supports the respective Ministries of Health in delivering medical supplies to hard-to-reach areas.

“We’re living in the most technologically advanced society of all time,” said KORE President and CEO Romil Bahl.

“I’m grateful every day that the IoT connectivity and solutions we provide are being used so that people in the remotest parts of the world are not forgotten or overlooked. Medical caregivers rely heavily on Swoop Aero’s ability to consistently transport the medicine that doctors and nurses need to care for citizens living in remote locations. Failure is not an option.”

Drone technology, paired with robust connectivity solutions, is leveling the playing field for people who live in remote and rural regions of the world. Using medical drone logistics within the existing health supply chain enables better access to essential medical commodities with reduced human interaction. This is a primary reason why the use of drones within the health supply chain has exponentially increased in the wake of the pandemic and, as the world begins to reopen, represents the “new normal.”

Critical to the success of this novel endeavor are the satellite and cellular redundancy and failover systems KORE provides to ensure fleets of drones are consistently operational.

“The ability to communicate reliably anywhere in the world, anytime, allows Swoop Aero to deploy a reliable, sustainable and scalable drone logistics network bridging the last mile and enabling equitable health access to anyone anywhere,” said Swoop Aero CEO Eric Peck.

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FAA lays out its remote ID ‘license plate for drones’ requirements.

WISeKey International Holding, a leading cybersecurity IoT company, today announced that its identity blockchain technology integrates advanced digital security solutions into drones.

Commercial drones are being used across various industries to help companies save money, improve safety, and enhance the efficiency of their operations.

New regulations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the U.S., for the first time allow commercial drones used for deliveries and services to fly overpopulated areas. These rules include strict requirements for tracking these drones to address safety and FAA security concerns.

As per these new safety rules, all but the smallest drones will have to broadcast a radio signal with a digital license plate and a flight location. Additionally, starting in 2022, the FAA’s Remote ID requirement will necessitate every drone sold in the U.S. that weighs more than 0.55 pounds to come with a way to broadcasts its location and identification to local authorities. One way to think of the technology is as a digital license plate for drones.

This technology already in use in Parrot drones, is now available and suitable for all commercial drones allowing WISekey to work directly with other drone manufacturers. The integration of WISeKey’s digital security technologies from inflight control systems down to infrastructure is designed to help drone manufactures further guarantee the security of their drone flights and recorded data for professional users.

Public safety, security, defense, and inspection professionals comprise a growing market share of drone users who demand the highest levels of privacy, encryption and security for their flights. Drones have many useful applications but can also be used to intentionally cause harm. Additionally, drones themselves can be subject to unlawful interference.

WISeKey’s VaultIC4xx series of secure elements offers reliable solutions to secure and prove the drone’s digital identity, and at the same time protect data and firmware against compromise when stored in the drone or in transit. This guarantees a secure connection between the controller and the drone. WISeKey’s VaultIC4xx secure elements are certified by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) following FIPS140-2 Level 3 standard, one of the strongest and globally recognized digital security levels. These are developed on Common Criteria EAL5+ certified hardware, another government grade security certification.

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Vodafone and Ericsson have successfully tested safe sky corridors for drones using intelligent aspects of the mobile network.

The technological breakthrough will allow professional drone operators, critical national infrastructure providers and emergency services to deliver medical, commercial and industrial supplies safe in the knowledge that they will arrive at the correct destination on time whilst remaining connected to the mobile network.

In a proof of concept trial conducted this month at Vodafone’s 5G Mobility Lab in Aldenhoven, Germany, the companies used intelligence from the network to produce coverage maps, which enabled the drone to stay in areas with a good signal up in the air. They also collated anonymised mobile user information so the drone could avoid heavily crowded areas down on the ground. They did this using information obtained via Vodafone’s ‘Network Exposure Layer’, which makes network data easy to utilise, whilst keeping it secure.

Vodafone can provide these two key pieces of information to trusted third parties via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to enable users to quickly and easily plot a pre-determined path for the drone, ensuring constant contact with the control centre, even when out of sight. In this scenario, Vodafone could offer a hospital access, via an API, to non-sensitive network information to send a drone to a scene of an accident.

As part of a separate test simulation, Vodafone in Spain recently flew a lightweight defibrillator to the scene of a cardiac arrest patient using a drone controlled by 5G.

Vodafone Group’s Chief Technology Officer Johan Wibergh said: “The mobile network is a data-rich asset that can be responsibly and securely utilised to aid society. We are evolving our software-driven, intelligent network into a powerful platform that can deliver new digital services. The responsible use of drones is just one such example but there will be many more.”

“APIs will speed up the adoption of drones for commercial and public sector use, bringing many benefits such as being able to assess fires, deliver medical supplies, and help businesses survey hazardous conditions like construction sites, power lines and our own mobile masts, quicker and more safely.”

Erik Ekudden, Senior Vice President, CTO and Head of Group Function Technology of Ericsson, added: “Drones are immensely powerful tools for many businesses and we are only scratching the surface of the possibilities they open up, which makes our collaboration with Vodafone all the more exciting.”

“Smarter network capabilities on our reliable mobile network will enable key industries such as healthcare, construction, and agriculture to accelerate site deployment, reduce health and safety hazards, and help save lives. With this technology, service providers can expand their cellular IoT services for enterprises and confidently meet regulatory guidelines. This is another milestone Ericsson’s partnership with Vodafone, as we continue to evolve our network and meet the diverse needs of fundamental industries.”

Telco as a Service (TaaS)

Cellular-connected drones form part of Vodafone’s multi-year journey to redefine its technology architecture on a ‘Telco as a Service’ (‘TaaS’) model, based on platforms that deliver new software, video and data applications at scale (see page 8 of the Vodafone Group half-year results release here). By extracting intelligence from its converged pan-European and African networks, combined with the use of open source software components, Vodafone can offer developers and businesses a cost-effective and quick way of automating services for millions of customers.

Video tuning

As part of the trial, Vodafone and Ericsson also explored ways to use the network to control key features of the drone such as being able to improve the definition of the video instantly without impacting other services. This is particularly useful in situations where the video is not required for the entire mission, like being able to inspect a suspension bridge or check on the condition of a mountaineer.

This trial builds on work carried out by Vodafone and Ericsson in 2018, in which they worked to mitigate possible interference from the drone when it received signals from multiple mobile sites.

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The County of Renfrew in Ontario, Canada is working in partnership with InDro Robotics, Cradlepoint and Ericsson to reduce time to treatment in private, residential and rural areas; test flights showed the drones arriving more than seven minutes before paramedic vehicles.

A ground-breaking trial using 4G LTE cellular connectivity to enable beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) drones to deliver automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to the scene of a cardiac arrest has taken place in the County of Renfrew, Ontario, Canada.

Working in partnership with technology providers, including InDro Robotics, Cradlepoint and Ericsson, the trial demonstrated the drones’ capabilities to arrive more than seven minutes before paramedic vehicles during each test flight. The County of Renfrew Paramedic Service will use these results to plan deployment strategies that reduce time to treatment for people suffering cardiac arrest, and for those who need urgent medications, in private, residential or rural locations.

Completed in September 2019, the trial involved the County of Renfrew Paramedic Service flying the first LTE-connected drones equipped with AEDs to locations in a 10-mile operating radius that are BVLOS of emergency services and pilots. This project is one of the first in the country to be granted permission for this capability, which could significantly expand the reach of these emergency services. Successfully delivering AEDs to remote patients in need has the potential to improve survival rates for people suffering cardiac arrest or other dire medical conditions.

The trials on Sept. 21-22, 2019 were a resounding success, with the drone arriving at least seven minutes before the paramedic vehicles during each test run. The drone flew over cellular to remote take-off points selected by GPS and landed successfully to deliver an AED to the onsite researchers. They then utilized the device to deliver required shocks to a medical mannequin. Translated to an actual cardiac arrest, the extra time provided by the drones would be crucial in saving the victim’s life.

As technology partners for the trial, InDro Robotics supplied the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), with Cradlepoint providing its NetCloud Service, including the on-board, rugged IoT router that enables LTE connectivity for control data and video between the vehicle and its pilot over a Canadian mobile carrier’s LTE advanced cellular network. Ericsson will offer 4G LTE equipment with carrier aggregation, as well as its cellular network design support and drone research.

The advanced drone and BVLOS traffic management technologies provided by InDro Robotics and Ericsson, and use of LTE for control and real-time video streaming provided by Cradlepoint and the mobile carrier, form the centerpiece of the County of Renfrew trial and its objective to increase the range and reduce time-to-site for remote cardiac arrest victims.

Previous line-of-sight trials using drones to assist emergency services have operated within the limitations of non-cellular communications technology and without the ability to use video, limiting them to trips of approximately 4.5 miles. By using the LTE cellular network, the County of Renfrew initiative offers the potential to deliver AEDs to patients up to 80 miles. To improve the mission-critical communications associated with these deliveries, the drones share images and video with operators and employ artificial intelligence to manage key functions, such as collision avoidance, all enabled by the speed, bandwidth and reliability of the LTE cellular network.

“Given the large area and varied terrain that the county encompasses, it is often difficult to get paramedics to patients in a timely fashion, so we have taken a layered approach to their response. We have been successfully using drones to support our emergency responders for several years, but until now, the operators have had line-of-sight of the situation. We will now have further reach than ever,” explained County of Renfrew Paramedic Chief Michael Nolan.

“What’s particularly innovative and exciting about this trial is the potential of drone-delivered AEDs to have a transformative impact on emergency care for patients suffering cardiac arrest, especially those in remote private, residential or rural settings, where getting emergency treatment rapidly is the difference between life and death.”

“I am very impressed with the results of these flights, advancing the science and operations, delivering life-saving tools such as a defibrillator by drone,” said Dr. Sheldon Cheskes of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

“This new drone technology is especially exciting when integrated into critical scenarios for paramedics – effectively enabling AED ‘on the fly,’” noted Philip Reece, CEO, InDro Robotics. “At InDro Robotics, part of what we focus on is custom design solutions for complex missions, and this is a perfect example of how drone software and hardware can provide a scalable solution to a very real problem. We’re thrilled to be part of this partnership, and to be able to demonstrate the capacity for drones and cellular technology at this life-saving trial.”

“This trial is an amazing illustration of one of Ericsson’s core beliefs, Technology for Good,” said David Everingham, vice president and chief technology officer, Ericsson Canada. “Ericsson’s portfolio for Critical Broadband Network capabilities allows service providers and government operators to meet the tough business and mission critical communication requirements on a cellular network. We are proud to partner on this innovative trial, as multiple companies join together to test how we can use 4G LTE networks and drones to help save lives in Canada.”

“The County of Renfrew’s forward-thinking approach to using UAVs and on-board cellular connectivity to extend the speed and range of delivery for life-saving emergency services represents how connected technology is transforming public safety,” commented John Campbell, vice president, Public Sector and Canada, Cradlepoint. “We are honored to be a part of the County of Renfrew’s ground-breaking trial, which promises to help advance public safety for rural communities everywhere.”

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XAG announces that its Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) crop protection services have covered an accumulated farmland of 20 million hectares, amid a large-scale cotton defoliation operation in Xinjiang, China.

Among the first to introduce fully autonomous drones to transform the way crops are grown, XAG has become one of the world’s largest agriculture drone manufacturers and service providers. Its crop spraying drones have operated in 38 countries including South Korea, Japan, Australia, Vietnam, Brazil, Mexico, Zambia, etc.

According to XAG Flight Information System (XFIS), up to September 11, 2019, the company’s total drone service record has exceeded 20 million hectares, which is 400% higher than that of a year ago. Particularly, this August, XAG conducted a record-breaking, single-day operation on as many as 140,000 hectares of farmlands, marking a milestone in the global UAS crop protection industry.

The 20-million-hectare service record indicates XAG’s enriched experience in drone-based crop protection as well as farmers’ strengthened trust on the new technology. The precision spraying solutions have been applied to sustainably safeguard a wide range of crops, including maize, cotton, rice, wheat and fruit trees, from harmful weeds and pest diseases.

Closing Yield Gap for Maize and Cotton

In a series of recent drone attacks on the ‘crop devouring’ fall armyworm, XAG has demonstrated that its aerial spraying solutions are highly effective in controlling the spread of these prolific, fast-spreading pests on maize fields. This April, XAG teamed up with Bayer Crop Science to launch a joint emergency control operation in China’s Guangxi Province, where a swarm of crop spraying drones were deployed to kill the pests with a larval mortality rate of 98%.

Following the defeat over fall armyworm, XAG has initiated a large-scale cotton defoliation operation ‘Take off for Harvest Time’ in China for the third consecutive year. Over 1000 professional crop protection teams with an estimated 3000 sets of P Series Plant Protection UASs have gathered in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to meet the ever-increasing market demands from local cotton growers.

Up to mid-September, XAG’s regional service record in Xinjiang alone has reached approximately 4.8 million hectares. Compared to the same period of last year, 49% more cotton fields have been precisely sprayed and effectively defoliated by XAG’s agriculture drones.

Xinjiang accounts for 80% of the nation’s cotton production, where 2.6 million hectares of cotton have been planted this year. To ensure a high-quality machine harvest, farmers need to spray defoliant to remove all the cotton leaves. Compared with hand sprayers or tractors, XAG’s crop spraying drones precisely apply demanded dosage of defoliant to reduce cotton impurities and improve fiber quality, while minimising the use of chemicals and agricultural water. The UAS precision spraying technology is making cotton production more in line with environmentally sustainable standards.

Solving Local Problem in a Global Scale

Founded in 2007, XAG is a Chinese-based agriculture technology company and one of the world’s largest industrial UAS manufacturers. Through empowering farmers with precision technologies such as drones, artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet-of-Things (IoT), XAG has been committed to improving the productivity, quality and sustainability of agricultural production. Currently, it has established global partnerships with industry leaders and research institutions, such as Bayer, Alibaba, Huawei, Harper Adams University and Sydney University, to promote digital farming and enhance food safety.

Having transformed crop protection approach on 20 million hectares of lands, XAG’s smart agriculture solutions have been introduced into 38 overseas markets and adapted to the local agricultural landscape, such as bee pollination and weed control in Australia, the fall armyworm plague in Zambia and the aging rural population in Japan.

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• Two use cases in which drones with a camera, an intelligent platform, and the connected car are able to communicate end-to-end via the Telefónica network.

• Drivers of connected vehicles are alerted to two dangerous situations on the road: the presence of a cyclist and a stationary vehicle on the road.

Today, in Becerril de la Sierra (Madrid), Telefónica, the Directorate General for Traffic (DGT) and SEAT have presented two cases in which IoT (Internet of Things) technology is used to increase road safety by helping to reduce accidents on Spanish roads.

The aim of the project is to show how an Internet of Things solution works in the early detection and warning of hazards to drivers travelling on a road with two specific cases that often cause situations of great danger:

• The presence of a cyclist riding along the same road.

• The existence of a stationary car on the road due to a breakdown or some other type of incident.

The presentation of the pilot was arranged against the backdrop of the arrival of the 18th stage of the Vuelta (Cycling Tour of Spain) and included the presence of Vicente Muñoz, Chief IoT Officer of Telefónica; Assistant Deputy Director for Mobility, General Directorate of Traffic (DGT); César de Marco, Head of 5G Connected Car at SEAT; and Pedro Delgado, former professional cyclist.

The Internet of Things system consists of a drone with a camera, which captures images of what is happening on the road and sends them in real time to a server that will soon be connected to the DGT 3.0 platform via Telefónica’s mobile network. The system processes the image, detects if there is a bicycle or a stationary vehicle on the road and sends an alert to the connected SEAT car.

The vehicle is connected to the network by a Telematic Control Unit (TCU), using C-V2X (Cellular Vehicle to Everything) technology through software that enables communication between the vehicle’s internal network and its surroundings (the DGT 3.0 platform, signalling and infrastructure systems, other vehicles etc.).

The result is that the connected cars travelling on that road and in the same direction in which the obstacle has been detected receive an alert that warns them of the danger they are going to encounter further on. This means that the driver can anticipate the problem and make decisions, having time to react, thus avoiding possible accidents.

To accomplish this, the DGT has relied on Telefónica as its technological partner. Telefónica has provided the project with end-to-end connectivity and has opened its network so that third parties can deploy applications on the edge of the network, enabling critical communications with immediate response (low latency) such as traffic management. Given that to establish communication with connected cars it is essential that latencies are minimal, it is necessary to deploy 5G capabilities on the current network, specifically the capacity of the Edge Computing server, a large distributed brain that hosts the content and applications very close to where the user consumes them.

At this year’s Mobile World Congress, Telefónica and SEAT presented several use cases for connected cars and assisted driving via 5G in a real environment, in which sensors installed in various infrastructures of the city warned the connected cars of the presence of pedestrians, cyclists and stationary vehicles on the roads.

The DGT 3.0 platform keeps road users connected by informing them of real-time traffic status, diversions, reversible lanes, application of measures for pollution protocols, traffic restrictions, road works being carried out and any type of incident that may affect traffic circulation. Similarly, it can also send them alerts about the proximity of cyclists, the forecast of roadblocks or traffic jams as well as the risk of fog. All this information is of vital importance when it comes to improving road safety, particularly on secondary roads.

All this data will be exchanged between the drivers and the DGT intelligent platform anonymously with all the assurances in place to maintain users’ digital security.

The project also involved SEAT, an industry leader for its connected cars, which has provided vehicles equipped with the latest connectivity technology to offer drivers a better and safer driving experience as part of its commitment to road safety; Ficosa, which developed the TCU unit and software that allows the transmission of information from a car to any external entity that may be affected and vice versa; and Aeorum, which has designed and developed drones with cameras and intelligence to identify obstacles that may appear on the road.

This action is part of the DGT’s commitment to road safety, placing special emphasis on cyclists, one of the most vulnerable groups of users, as demonstrated by the fact that a total of 36 cyclists lost their lives on Spanish roads in 2018. The aim is to be able to eradicate fatal and serious accidents, as well as minimise emissions on the roads.

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Sponsored by the world’s leading telecom supplier Huawei Technologies, the Huawei Cloud City Summit, under the theme ‘Cloud for Good’, was recently held in China’s southern city Guangzhou to promote industry innovations driven by 5G technology.

As a global agriculture technology company and industrial UAS manufacturer, XAG was invited to attend the summit to share its prospect of 5G-powered agriculture in collaboration with Huawei.

At the summit, Justin Gong, Co-founder and Vice President of XAG, gave a keynote speech to explain the company’s multi-layer smart agriculture solutions. XAG has developed drones, internet-of-things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital farming tools to help farmers effectively grow high-quality produce without exerting excessive environmental pressure on the planet. Specifically, with improved efficiency and user experience, 5G is expected to become a new catalyst to accelerate the development of intelligent agriculture.

This July, XAG partnered with Huawei on a smart agriculture project in which the two companies initiated joint experiments to explore the potential applications of 5G, AI and Cloud Computing in agriculture.

Since 2016, XAG has joined hands with Huawei in developing the Agriculture IoT System (XIoT), which aims to rebuild the trust between producers and consumers with a more transparent, traceable food value chain. XAG’s FarmMonitor and FarmCam can collect real-time meteorological and soil data, such as rainfall, wind speed, soil moisture and temperature, and capture HD field images to help farmers manage their lands more scientifically. These intelligent sensors are empowered with Huawei’s communication and HiSilicon imaging solutions that enable high-resolution, smooth monitoring of crop growth status while saving a huge amount of data usage.

5G has the potential to transform agriculture, as the development of smart farming is heavily dependent on both mobile internet and automated devices to achieve real-time, precise production and management. XAG’s cooperation with Huawei is expected to expand throughout the entire production system, with the emphasis on leveraging 5G technology to seamlessly interconnect people and a vast diversity of smart agricultural devices in new level of performance, cost-efficiency and immersive experience.

With a much higher peak data rate, lower latency and massive capability, 5G can not only raise the speed and precision of data transmission and processing but also improve the control accuracy and stability of drones and robots. When 5G combines with AI and cloud computing, new production scenarios such as live video monitoring, remote diagnostics and on-site prescription would emerge to enable precision agriculture.

For example, geographic and imaging data captured by XAG’s surveying drones can be real-time processed in the cloud, while Agriculture Intelligence (XAI) can immediately analyse those data to generate AI prescription maps on site to achieve the Variable-rate Application (VRA) of the plant protection drones or other automated agri-machineries.

During the past six years, XAG has developed a fully autonomous plant protection drone to replace physical labour on seeding, fertilising and chemical spraying. This means that a large amount of agricultural production data, including field edges, landforms, object location, crop growth, flight path and spraying dosage, have been accumulated for AI analytics and deep learning.

Moreover, the partnership between XAG and Huawei will also take further steps to elevate the agricultural application of IoT to a new height. With 5G and cloud computing, the growing condition of croplands would be streamed via live videos on mobile phones to improve farmers’ crop management experience and alleviate consumers’ concern on food safety. Farmers can conduct remote crop disease diagnosis more accurately without staying by the fields and sweating all over. And consumers will be well informed by the produce traceability system so that the trust gap between consumer and producer will close.

Since 2013, XAG has leveraged its smart agriculture technologies to serve over 4.7 million farmers worldwide and conducted precise, cost-effective UAS crop protection on more than 6 million hectares of farmlands. With the deepened cooperation with Huawei, XAG will strive to interconnect all its intelligent devices, including drones, sensors and robots, through 5G, AI and cloud computing to achieve automated agriculture and smart farming.

The post XAG and Huawei Cooperate on 5G-powered Smart Agriculture appeared first on IoT Business News.

The 3rd AI for Good Global Summit, a leading United Nation platform for multilateral dialogue on Artificial Intelligence (AI), was kicked off in Geneva, Switzerland, May 28-31.

As the only Chinese agri-tech company to join the Summit, XAG presented its innovative solutions of combining drones with AI and IoT technology to achieve precision agriculture and induce transformational changes to the food system.

Bringing together over 1,200 interdisciplinary participants from 200 countries, the AI for Good Global Summit connects AI innovators with problem owners to identify practical applications of AI to accelerate process towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Speakers from industry giants such as Microsoft, Google, Mastercard, IBM, Airbus, Siemens, Danone and Roland Berger were present at the Summit.

“Zero Hunger” is one of the 17 UN SDGs expected to be achieved by 2030. According to the United Nations, up to 80% of food consumed in most developing countries are produced by smallholder farmers who, however, account for approximately 50% of the 815 million people suffering from hunger worldwide. At the Summit’s session on AI and Agriculture, Justin Gong, Co-founder and Vice President of XAG, together with other panel experts from Microsoft, Tata Group and Connecterra has proposed projects and initiatives to exploit new possibilities of AI technology to improve food security and end hunger.

Make AI-driven Precision Agriculture Practical

Artificial Intelligence, through continuously analysing massive data related to climate, lands, crop growing, etc., while automatically designing and optimising algorithms for decision-making, can help farmers diagnose plant diseases, predict natural disasters and employ appropriate resources to close the yield gap. At XAG, AI-powered intelligent devices such as drones and sensors have been leveraged to establish digital farming infrastructure in rural areas and enable precision agriculture which, for example, accurately target pesticides, seeds, fertilisers and water to wherever it is needed.

Justin Gong said:

“The diffusion of AI innovations is nonlinear. Unlike releasing new drugs or medicine which would totally disrupt the market, AI technologies are learning from countless applications and gradually entering our daily life.”

For the past five years, XAG has conducted UAS plant protection services on over 6 million hectares of farmlands, covering 255 crop varieties from rice and wheat to cotton and fruit trees. This has reduced more than 6000 tons of pesticides and fertilisers while conserving 1.4 million tons of agricultural water. In the meantime, the agriculture production data collected during the process will train XAG Agriculture Intelligence (XAI) to become smarter.

Besides, XAI has been developed to dig up the values behind field images and generate AI prescription map to assist high-precision operation. In the case of orchard management, farmers use XMission Multifunctional UAS mounted with a mapping camera to take high-definition images of the orchards. Based on the 1:500 HD field images, XAI can automatically identify the boundaries and obstacles as well as calculating the statistic of fruit trees in each orchard. The position of each fruit tree, including its centre and perimeter, can be accurately pinpointed, with the recall ratio and precision ratio reaching as high as 98.60% and 98.04% respectively. Thousands of fruit trees can be simultaneously located by XAI in only one second.

When analysing remote sensing images, XAI can go further to detect pests, weeds and diseases, recognise cotton boll opening rate as well as monitoring crop growth of a certain farmland. This enable AI prescription service which provides intelligent guidance for precision spraying.

Business Model Innovation Comes Along with AI and Drone

Through the development of Agriculture Intelligence, XAG has also driven collaboration between multi-stakeholders including farmers, service providers and traditional agriculture companies to promote a new business model that benefits all sides. As Gong presented, the cotton production business in Xinjiang, China has been disrupted by the diffusion of AI and drone technology. Compared to picking cotton by hand in the past, local farmers now primarily use large ground-based machines such as tractors to harvest cotton. Traditionally, in order to ensure a better-quality machine harvest, farmers tend to spray multiple times of defoliant to remove all the cotton leaves. This approach would cause overdosing that wastes a large amount of water and chemicals.

With four years’ field experiments on deep learning, image segmentation and convolutional neural network, XAG has taken the lead in utilising drones and AI to reduce the use and of defoliant. A large-scale cotton defoliation operation has even been initiated in Xinjiang during autumn 2018. Specifically, XAI could predict the cotton opening time and determine the best time to conduct spraying, through the analysis of meteorological data and the cotton growing status. Then, the amount of defoliant needed for different patches of land would be calculated to form an AI prescription map and therefore enable precision spraying.

This has completely changed the game for agriculture production. In the past, due to information asymmetry and lack of professional farming knowledge, farmers heavily relied on chemical distributors to decide what to buy and how much should be applied to the crops. Now with new technologies bridging the gap, the traditional chemical distributors must transform themselves to providing more reliable, guaranteed service based on the AI prescription map. As for the big players, Bayer, one of the biggest agrochemical producers, has partnered with XAG in developing UAS-specialised chemicals and delivering safer, more cost-effective plant protection service to farmers.

AI-backed Digital Finance for Smallholders

Another problem that XAG is trying to solve is lack of financial resources in the rural regions of developing countries. Smallholder farmers are dedicated their lives to producing food for the world, but without financial support to adopt new tools and approaches, most of them can hardly make ends meet on their lands.

Now with information such as farming, crop growth and transactional records being digitalised and shared, AI can be harnessed to build individual credit risk scoring system for farmers. In China, XAG has established strategic cooperation with some of the biggest national financial institutions to offer farmers, even those without credit card or collateral, convenient, equal access to loans and claims. Based on their accumulated digital credits earned from Alipay mobile payment, farmers and service providers can even rent the P Series drone without any deposit. This is making new technologies available to a broader group of smallholders, while helping them obtain necessary resources to improve productivity and generate decent incomes.

AI is making an impact on agriculture, despite the legal and ethical challenges associated with its adoption. As Justin Gong said, there are huge opportunities for the world, especially the developing countries, to adopt flexible, nimble technologies such as AI and drones to grow food more sustainably.

The post How XAG is Leveraging AI Technology to Transform Agriculture appeared first on IoT Business News.

In the first trial of its kind in Europe, Vodafone Group has successfully demonstrated how mobile networks could support the European’s Commission’s vision of safe long distance drone flights.

IoT technologies bring Internet-connected network intelligence to a wide range of devices at work, home and on the move. Regulators will need technology support to ensure drones are constantly monitored when flying ‘beyond visual line of sight’ (BVLOS) and to enforce no fly zones around sensitive buildings (including schools, hospitals, prisons, government buildings and chemical plants).

A study commissioned by the European Union estimates that a regulated drone services industry could contribute in excess of €15 billion annually to the European economy by 2050, with over 100,000 new jobs created.*

European businesses are considering using drones for a broad range of tasks including: the rapid delivery of small, high-value payloads (like medical supplies), the monitoring of critical assets (such as energy pipelines), and rescue missions in hazardous conditions.

Vodafone’s Radio Positioning System (RPS), which was first announced at Mobile World Congress in March 2018, uses a 4G modem and SIM attached to a drone, enabling a self-learning artificial intelligence system to calculate the position of the drone. The system will be able to indicate if a drone has veered off an agreed flight path, helping to safeguard aircraft, civilians, sensitive facilities and other drones.

Representatives of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Commission observed the latest trials of RPS at a Vodafone test facility in Aldenhoven. To perform the trial, Vodafone secured an exemption under the German Regulation for the Operation of Unmanned Aircraft**, which entered into force in April 2017. Permission to fly was granted by the applicable regional aviation authority.

The trial demonstrated that existing 4G networks, which are optimised for ground-based users, could simultaneously be used to monitor drone flights at up to 120 metres above ground level. This confirmed that RPS could be used as a back-up to GPS location, which is easier to disable or spoof than mobile technology supported by secure SIM cards. Conventional radar does not work with small devices like drones.

For the first time Vodafone also showed that it was possible to identify two drones in close proximity and manage them separately. In future this could be done at mass scale with SIM cards in drones serving a similar function to aircraft transponders.

The 4G mobile network also supported a live video stream (1080p) and image transfer at an average download speed of more than 9 megabits per second, which will support several commercial use cases.

Vodafone Group Chief Technology Officer, Johan Wibergh, said:
“This important trial has shown the capability for mobile networks to help to implement a regulatory framework and enable the creation of a substantial drone services economy in Europe. In addition, we have learned a lot about how Vodafone’s mobile network and technology can support businesses seeking to introduce innovative new drone services.”

Yves Morier, Principal Advisor to the Flight Standards Director, EASA, said:

“Operator trials such as this one are helpful in developing the regulatory framework that will enable beyond line of sight drone flights in Europe and the creation of a valuable new area of economic activity.”

Vodafone is currently scoping out two further phases of trials which will test features including geo-fencing (the ability to block drones from entering no-fly zones), implementation of different authority levels when accessing location information and flight plans and the tracking of drones with 5G.

Vodafone will also undertake drone demonstrations as part of the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR) Joint Undertaking within the framework the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility programme. The demos aim to illustrate that Europe is on course with its implementation of U-space, an initiative that aims to ensure safe and secure drone traffic management.

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IoT sensors detect unauthorized drone flights for military bases, venues, cities, enterprises, correctional facilities, and more.

AT&T and Dedrone, a San Francisco-based drone detection technology startup, are teaming up on a drone detection solution that helps protect military bases, venues, cities, and businesses, from malicious drones.

As drones become more prominent, so does the misuse of the emerging technology. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, people purchased roughly 3 million drones worldwide in 2017. More than 1 million drones have been registered in the U.S. This creates a new avenue and threat vector for the community.

Dedrone detects drones of all kinds, including commercial, consumer and military-grade, as well as autonomous drones. The airspace security platform uses Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and LTE connectivity to detect, classify, mitigate, and localize drone-based threats.

“Physical security and cybersecurity are equally important when safeguarding an entire ecosystem,” said Michael Zeto, Vice President and General Manager of Smart Cities, AT&T. “Malicious drones pose an aerial threat for the community, for businesses and for the people that live and work there. With Dedrone, we’re helping to protect customers and citizens from this type of risk.”

Since 2014, Dedrone has been working with correctional facilities, public utilities, and other organizations to help protect their lower airspace from drone incursions.

AT&T is the sole LTE connectivity provider for Dedrone’s drone detection solution.

The software-centric platform identifies approaching drones by means of radio frequency, visual, radar, and other sensor data. Analysis of sensor data then reliably classifies approaching drones and finds their locations. It then triggers alarms to alert security staff.

The wide area and early detection capabilities allow public safety agencies to react quicker and more efficiently. It can also be integrated with other counter measures to help protect the public, such as building management and alarm systems.

“AT&T provides a reliable platform for Dedrone customers to connect our technology to their security ecosystem, and use Dedrone analytics to understand their lower airspace activity,” shares Joerg Lamprecht, CEO and co-founder of Dedrone.

“Working with AT&T helps ensure that Dedrone technology is integrated into smart cities to prevent drone intrusions.”

AT&T is also utilizing drone technology itself. AT&T started investigating the use of drones a few years ago and has since started using drones for tower inspections, carrying our customers’ live LTE communications at events, and providing connectivity at scale to first responders and consumers.

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SolarXOne Unmanned Aerial Vehicle designed for long-endurance flights to collect real-time data and efficiently monitor agriculture, maritime, land and industrial infrastructure.

Sierra Wireless today announced that XSun has selected Sierra Wireless’ device-to-cloud IoT solution, including AirLink® RV50 gateways, multi-operator smart connectivity services and the AirVantage® IoT platform, for its solar-powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).

XSun’s SolarXOne is designed to be autonomous in energy and flight control to enable long-endurance flights for agriculture, maritime, land and industrial infrastructure surveillance.

XSun, a startup based in France, architected the 4.5m-wide SolarXOne with a wide surface of solar panels and a large variety of sensors, giving it the ability to fly autonomously for days, covering long distances while collecting data.

Supported by distributor Sphinx Connect France, XSun chose Sierra Wireless’ device-to-cloud solution to enable reliable connectivity and real-time data transmission, which allows its customers to see exactly what’s happening on their sites at any time, so they can intervene quickly, even immediately, in the event of an emergency. The Sierra Wireless solution also enables XSun to measure data consumption and manage its entire fleet lifecycle from its control center.

“Our mission is to create a UAV with the maximum level of autonomy to release the full potential of drones,” said Benjamin David, CEO and founder of XSun.

“Sierra Wireless provided us with a complete solution to cover all aspects of communication and monitoring, including multi-operator coverage to ensure a continuous connection between the drone and XSun’s control center. This allows us to focus on bringing a drone to market that can secure critical infrastructure, protect the environment and save lives.”

Critical infrastructure, such as oil and gas pipelines, railways, and electrical grids, must be monitored on a regular basis. Today, this is often done by a piloted helicopter, which has a very high cost and limited range. The SolarXOne is a much more cost-effective, energy-efficient and safer option, plus the drone can fly at a lower altitude, providing higher resolution data. It can be reliably operated from hundreds of kilometers away, flying for days instead of hours, making it ideal for surveilling large areas for applications such as commercial farming, search and rescue, and monitoring for forest fires.

“Integrating IoT technology into the SolarXOne allows XSun to create new business opportunities for its customers,” said Marc Overton, senior vice president and general manager, IoT Services, Sierra Wireless. “With real-time intelligence, XSun customers can automate operations, increase responsiveness and lower their costs to survey and maintain critical infrastructure.”

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Sierra Wireless and PrecisionHawk will demonstrate the LTE-enabled LATAS Platform at Mobile World Congress 2017.

Sierra Wireless today announced that PrecisionHawk has selected Sierra Wireless AirPrime® MC Series embedded modules to enable global LTE connectivity for its Low Altitude Traffic and Airspace Safety (LATAS) platform, which enables safe drone operation on a broad scale.

A May 2016 PwC report, Clarity from Above, projects the global commercial drone market to grow to more than $127 billion by 2020.

LATAS is the only platform to link drones, 3D ground data and live manned aircraft data from the Federal Aviation Administration and global authorities into a single system that tells commercial or hobbyist drone operators when and where it’s safe to fly. Sierra Wireless AirPrime MC7354 modules are currently installed in drones operating in Australia and New Zealand, providing critical real-time connectivity to locate drones and pinpoint their positions at all times, and send notifications to users about in-flight hazards, such as nearby aircraft and airspace restrictions.

Operating over worldwide cellular networks and satellites, the LATAS platform connects leading airspace management technologies, such as sense and avoid, geofencing and aircraft tracking, into a service package for commercial and recreational drone operators, as well as regulators and air traffic controllers. LATAS allows users to request, track and verify all flight operations from a central location and automatically report flight paths back to aviation authorities.

Tyler Collins, VP Airspace at PrecisionHawk, said:

“As tens of thousands of new operators join the drone space around the world, our goal is to provide an easy to use and reliable safety tool that gives drone operators a complete picture of their surroundings and how those surroundings are changing in real-time.”

“This wouldn’t be possible without the cutting edge innovation in cellular connectivity that Sierra Wireless provides.”

Current radar technologies and ADS-b reporting systems are unable to locate and track drones due to their small size and the low altitudes at which they fly. This makes it difficult for traffic controllers to manage commercial and hobbyist drone operations while maintaining safe and effective separation with the existing infrastructure of ground and air obstacles. The LATAS platform can be installed plug and play or integrated into drone circuit systems during manufacturing.

“We’re proud to be supplying the first cellular modules flying on drones to make the skies safer,” said Dan Schieler, Senior Vice President and General Manager, OEM Solutions, Sierra Wireless. “With near-ubiquitous coverage, cellular connectivity is key to innovative applications like PrecisionHawk’s LATAS being able to scale across the globe.”

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Verizon sets path forward for Airborne LTE Operations.

The internet of things (IoT) is taking flight at Verizon. The company today announced its strategy to drive innovation and wide-spread adoption for in-flight wireless connectivity through its Airborne LTE Operations (ALO) initiative.

Two years in the making, Verizon’s plan includes:

• The successful completion of technical trials in various locations across the country using a combination of unmanned and manned aircraft on Verizon’s 4G LTE network.
• An early adopter simulation exercise in Cape May, New Jersey using unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) to demonstrate how Verizon’s 4G LTE network can help first responders and emergency management personnel enhance disaster recovery efforts.

The launch of a new suite of services as early as 2017 on Verizon’s ThingSpace IoT platform to help developers and businesses create and manage a

• wide-range of ALO-enabled applications simply backed by secure cloud and analytics capabilities.
• A new device certification process, now available, that sets forth requirements to enable access to wireless connectivity for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) on Verizon’s 4G LTE network.
• Collaboration with innovative partners such as American Aerospace (AATI) and Sierra Wireless to pave the way for aerial long-range applications beyond line of sight.

Commercial connectivity trials

Verizon’s network team began work to develop the technology for in-flight LTE operations in 2014 and throughout 2015.

In 2016, Verizon evolved its Airborne LTE Operations even further by engaging American Aerospace Technologies Inc. (AATI) to test connectivity between aerial platforms and Verizon’s 4G LTE network. The initial controlled trial was conducted with a 17-foot wingspan unmanned aircraft system in conjunction with AATI. The aerial platform tested advanced aerial inspection techniques that can be applied not just to the hundreds of miles of pipeline in rural Virginia, but also nationwide while connecting to Verizon’s 4G LTE network.

“This latest trial demonstrated how emerging technology combined with wireless networks can improve safety and security,” said Mike Haberman, vice president, Network Operations, Verizon. “A nationwide reliable 4G LTE network is the foundation for the future of mobile IoT in the air.”

As a result of the successful trial, Verizon deemed its 4G LTE 700 MHz network safe for in-flight wireless connectivity, which led to the creation of device and service requirements as part of Verizon’s ALO initiative.

Together with AATI, Verizon is also exploring next steps in in-flight cellular services for UAVs nationally on its 4G LTE network. Once federal regulations allow UAV operation beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), new tests will focus on BVLOS command-and-control cellular network communications for long-distance UAVs.

Path forward for certification

Once Verizon certifies that the device has met Verizon’s Open Development requirements for wireless connectivity and usage on Verizon’s LTE network, aerial devices may be used for multiple applications by embedding the device on the UAV itself, as an add-on device to the UAV or even in conjunction with a low-altitude flying manned aircraft — in accordance with the operators’ compliance with other applicable rules. Devices certified by Verizon will be listed on the company’s Open Development portal.

“In our view, no one else in the industry has taken the kind of holistic approach of extending the reach of 4G LTE and IoT like Verizon,” said Mike Lanman, senior vice president of Enterprise Products and IoT at Verizon. “While other market participants are only just now getting into this space by launching trials within a limited geographical footprint, Verizon has taken a leadership role for the last two years.”

Lanman added:

“By scaling the systems required to connect UAS and UAVs to our LTE network nationwide through our ALO initiative, we’ve set the stage for a wide range of applicable solutions to be delivered via our ThingSpace open development platform across multiple sectors.”

Imagine a world where:

• Pipelines and high-voltage lines are studied via unmanned aircraft without endangering human life.
• Agriculture yields increase while water usage and pesticides decrease thanks to IoT-enabled technologies such as aerial imaging.
• First responders could survey the spread of wildfires or the extent of flooding or tornado damage from an unmanned aircraft.

Investing in the future

Verizon continues to drive innovation and thought leadership in this space through its Verizon Labs technology organization. Furthermore, Verizon Ventures, the company’s venture capital division, was the first wireless service provider to become a member of the Small UAV Coalition (SUAVC).

In December 2015, the AUVSI invited Verizon’s Chief Data Scientist, Ashok Srivastava, to speak at a Capitol Hill briefing in Washington DC to help legislators understand future-looking issues around UAVs, including UAS Traffic Management (UTM). Verizon Labs continues to contribute to the larger UAV ecosystem by supporting policy efforts of the SUAVC, AUVSI and other industry groups, as well as participating in trials conducted under the Federal Aviation Administration’s Pathfinder initiative and NASA’s UTM program.

Additionally, Verizon Ventures has invested in this space with portfolio companies that include:

• Skyward an information management platform connecting both drones and their operators with the information they need to fly safely and in compliance with regulatory and insurance requirements.
• PrecisionHawk a provider of aerial data and safety platforms for drones. Last year, Verizon and PrecisionHawk began an early-adopter trial using UAVs and data analytics as part of Verizon’s ag tech solution.

In the second-quarter 2016, revenue from Verizon’s internet of things business grew 25% totaling $205 million and approximately $400 million year-to-date June 2016.

The post Air: the next frontier for the internet of things appeared first on IoT Business News.

Skycatch Drones Provide Bird’s Eye View of Construction Projects.

AT&T is working with Skycatch Inc. to provide insight and near real-time information from drones on the job.

Tracking progress on large construction sites around the world, Skycatch will connect their precision 3D mapping drones with AT&T LTE-connected tablets on the ground to help ensure high accuracy positioning. Skycatch provides the link between the drones and the tablets and then AT&T’s services are used to connect the tablets and other ground-based devices.

Skycatch drones and software platform help companies incorporate aerial data into their everyday workflow. Industries such as construction, mining, and energy use Skycatch solutions for insight into their projects. Using data collected from above, the drone data company can help build high-resolution maps and 3D models of a job site. With millions of dollars on the line, companies want to know their projects are moving forward safely and efficiently.

The highly secure LTE based solution sends position and correction data quickly —helping ground operators keep an eye on their UAS operations around the world by logging flight hours, battery and maintenance issues from their LTE connected tablets.

The tablets can also help keep drones stay within bounds, receiving updates such as temporary no-fly zones from the Skycatch system.

“We’re working with some of the best in the industry to help ensure that drones can work on our network,” said Matt Walsh, director of business development, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) – AT&T IoT Solutions. “But the benefit of connectivity is not limited to sky-focused wireless services.”

“IoT can benefit drone solutions such as Skycatch today by improving their accuracy and providing an inside look at their operations from ground based technologies like the Skycatch connected tablets.”

“In today’s fast-paced world, how quickly and reliably you can get information has a tangible impact on your bottom line,” said Christian Sanz, Founder & CEO of Skycatch. “High Accuracy allows professionals including earthmovers, architects, and BIM managers to receive an accurate representation of the land to facilitate accurate and fast changes in design, inspection, and general job site planning. AT&T’s powerful infrastructure enables us to deliver our high-fidelity aerial maps and 3D point clouds to our customers at the high level of speed and quality they need to integrate them into their own workflow.”

Skycatch is a global leader in commercial drone data solutions. Heavy-equipment giant Komatsu uses these systems for precision surveys and machine automation at hundreds of job sites across the world.

“This powerful data and machine learning platform has allowed us to remove the complexity of operating heavy machinery,” said Ryochi Togashi, General Manager in Komatsu’s office of the CTO.

The post AT&T Brings LTE Tablets, Connectivity to Skycatch Solution appeared first on IoT Business News.