Drones
14
LTE, like all mobile network
technology, was deployed to support
the use-case of people on the
ground, not objects in the air
www.criticalcomms.com September 2019
protection from interference, to enable beyond-visual-line-ofsight
operations.
However, “LTE, like all mobile network technology, was
deployed to support the use-case of people on the ground, not
objects in the air”, says Rehbehn. He points out that in the
UK, one element of the Emergency Services Network (ESN)
is to provide LTE air-to-ground coverage in order to allow
police and air ambulance aircraft to use the same missioncritical
push-to-talk voice and high-speed data services that
will be available to their ground-based counterparts.
Often, the use of drones is associated with discussions
around 5G, but Rehbehn says they do not require 5G’s
ultra-low-latency capabilities. In addition, “5G offers access
to high-spectrum bands and that requires non-backwardscompatible
changes”, Rehbehn says. “Drones are elements
that will be supported by lower-frequency communications.”
Thomas Neubauer, vice-president, business development
and innovation at TEOCO, agrees that 4G is sufficient for
the number of drones operating at the moment. But he
says 5G could offer additional reliability for mission-critical
applications, due to the ability to ‘slice’ the network for
certain use-cases. This could see a network slice adhering to
certain criteria with a level of availability reserved for missioncritical
applications – or even a slice just for drones.
“The key thing for 5G and drones is network slicing,” says
Neubauer. He suggests a dedicated slice for the command
and control channel just for this. “It gives you a separate
communication channel including guaranteed quality of
service for command and control for drones.”
Use-cases
There is vast potential, so where are drones being used in
public safety? One company, Edgybees, offers augmented
reality software to be used on drones. Adam Kaplan, CEO
and co-founder, explains how the software takes geographic
information system (GIS) information, such as maps and
data tracking, and puts it over live video. This means if street
names are obscured during a flood, for example, they can be
overlaid onto the video footage to help first-responders.
Meanwhile, Perrin cites the example of drones being
used by forensic collision investigators to investigate a
scene without disturbing it. “They would fly the drone
through the sequence of the collision to show the coroner
what happened.”
They can also be used for monitoring large collections of
people: drones have been used in this way to support police at
the Notting Hill Carnival in the UK.
In the fire service, drones are used to help respond to house
fires. “They can change from visual optic to thermal imaging,”
says chief Charles Werner, a drone expert. “They flip over to
the thermal image and it’s possible to see heat signatures or
issues with the roof.”
The fire service is also using drones to deal with wildfires in
order to enhance overall situational awareness and to improve
co-ordination between groups, says Werner. He cites an app
called Hangar. “It takes a 360-degree view at high resolution
so you can assess the damage in a particular area. They are
using GIS online, and that creates the dashboard that takes
the local GIS information and overlays the view. In a house
fire, they can fly and capture where apparatus is positioned.”
Meanwhile, Rehbehn cites New York’s Fire Department
(FDNY), which has a seven-year-old programme that deploys
tethered drones in vehicles staffed by firefighters for certain
types of events, such as the latter stages of building fires. “It’s
not the initial or second alarm, but one of the later levels of
alarms,” Rehbehn says. “FDNY policy is to send these vehicles
to the scenes and they are put in flight by launching the drone
vertically up to places they think are useful observation points
for command.”
According to Werner, drones are also being used by law
enforcement in the US for tactical operations. In one case, the
California sheriff’s team could see a house where a drug deal
was taking place. “One guy threw his drugs in the bushes and
changed his shirt from black to pink – the drone saw him so
they were able to track him as he escaped.”
Drones are also being used in remote areas for the transfer
of biological samples to hospitals, says Dr Nigel Whittle, head
of medical and healthcare at Plextek. He points to an overseas
company based in Indonesia. “They have a drone system to
carry samples. They have navigation and control aspects and
they need cameras and radars to help fly and avoid obstacles.
We offer a sense-and-avoid radar system which can detect
power lines. There are lots of these throughout the islands and
you need to avoid them.”
Plextek’s sense-and-avoid millimetre-wave radar system
operates at 60GHz. “It’s more for reconnaissance purposes –
to fly around buildings, for example,” says Dr Whittle. “With
a camera you might not see obstacles, but with a millimetrewave
radar you might – and it works in bad weather too.”
Drone regulation
The use-cases are increasing as technology advances. However,
one major barrier to adoption is aviation regulation. In the
UK, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulates the use
of drones. A drone used for emergency services, including
those for mission-critical use, is still required to be registered
Overlaying GIS
information over
live video feeds
from drones
makes it easier for
first responders to
quickly determine
the best course
of action
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