There is a considerable hype about fleets of drones delivering packages and surveying infrastructure. But no one has worked out how exactly these fleets will communicate at scale. It is one thing to create a prototype application with radios that operate within view of an operator and another to reliably communicate with fleets of dozens or even hundreds of drones over longer distances.
A team of researchers at the Technology Innovation Institute in the UAE has conducted the world’s most extensive survey of the issues facing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones. This could unlock opportunities for the widespread adoption of UAVs down the road.
In theory, drones should be able to take advantage of 4G and 5G cellular networks, just like smartphones. But these networks have been designed for people who are mostly on the surface, relatively still, and won’t crash if they lose connection.
