Drone deliveries to your house or business may have become more likely today with news that AT&T and chip maker Qualcomm are going to test controlling drones over AT&T’s cell network.
The FAA recently unveiled drone rules, and Raleigh-based PrecisionHawk is among the pacesetters for line-of-sight control as stipulated by those guidelines. PrecisionHawk on Aug. 29 also received a waiver to line-of-sight rules.
The AT&T-Qualcomm effort is designed to extend that “line of sight” via wireless links between drones and cell towers/sites. Testing is expected to begin later this month.
“With no firm timeline in mind, Qualcomm and AT&T want to produce the kind of drone communication system that will convince federal regulators to allow flights beyond the visual line-of-sight,” Wired magazine reports. “That would enable more than the flying delivery systems Amazon and Google dream of. It would permit search-and-rescue missions, mapping, exploration, and environmental monitoring far beyond what any human pilot can see.”
Qualcomm and AT&T says the tests could open the way for the kinds of deliveries Amazon and other companies have discussed.
“The goal of the trials and ongoing research is to help enable future drone operations, such as Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS), as regulations evolve to permit them,” the companies said in the joint announcement. “The ability to fly beyond an operator’s visual range could enable successful delivery, remote inspection and exploration.”
The tests will involve AT&T’s current 4G LTE network technology and the forthcoming 5G, which promises much faster data speeds.
“The trial with a carrier with the reach and technology of AT&T is a significant step in the development of connectivity technologies for small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS), including optimization of LTE networks and advancement of 5G technology for drones,” said Matt Grob, executive vice president and chief technology officer at Qualcomm.
“Not only do we aim to analyze wide-scalable LTE optimization for safe, legal commercial SUAS use cases with beyond line-of-sight connectivity, but the results can help inform positive developments in drone regulations and 5G specifications as they pertain to wide-scale deployment of numerous drone use cases.”
The trials will include a technology from Qualcomm known as Snapdragon Flight. Snapdragon is one of Qualcomm’s cutting-edge chips. The platform is already in use on some commercial drones, offering improved sensors, 4K video, and autonomous visual navigation, Qualcomm says.
(Watch an introductory video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WQ3LQfdYt8 )
“Many of the anticipated benefits of drones, including delivery, inspections and search and rescue will require a highly secure and reliable connection,” said Chris Penrose, senior vice president, IoT Solutions for AT&T. “With a focus on both regulatory and commercial needs, LTE connectivity has the potential to deliver optimal flight plans, transmit flight clearances, track drone location and adjust flight routes in near real-time. Solving for the connectivity challenges of complex flight operations is an essential first step to enabling how drones will work in the future.”
