TECHNOLOGY NEWS
UK led team trials drone
communications network
System ensures network access for first responders
ROYAL NAVY TO TEST EXTRA-LARGE AUTONOMOUS SUB
9 April 2020 / www.theengineer.co.uk
A communications network
that uses a drone as a
temporary base station
has been demonstrated
by a Surrey University led
research team.
The technology developed
through the DARE project
(Distributed Autonomous and
Resilient Emergency Management
System), uses portable, batterypowered
communications nodes
which use ultra-fast 5G networking
to communicate with airborne
drones to deliver wireless internet
access to users on the ground.
The group behind the initiative,
which includes researchers from
the universities of Glasgow, Surrey,
Kingston and Malaya, claim that
it could be used to provide mobile
connectivity to disaster zones.
Explaining the background
Dr Yusuf Sambo, from Glasgow
University’s school of engineering
said: “Whenever man made or
natural disasters occur…mobile
networks normally go down either
due to network destruction or
congestion due to everyone trying
to access the network. This affects
first responders, search and rescue
operatives, and even people trying
to contact their loved ones.”
The project, which received
£1.2m funding from the Engineering
and Physical Sciences Research
Council’s Global Research
Challenge Fund, reached its
conclusion on 12th March, 2020
with a demonstration at Glasgow
University’s Stevenson Building.
During this trial, five network
nodes, around 200m apart from
each other, were scattered around
the inside the building where they
were used to deliver a continuous
5G network signal to users via
a specially adapted off the shelf
drone.
The idea, Sambo said, is that
during use a drone would be parked
on top of a building in order to
establish a network. “Rather than
fly continuously you use the drone
to lift the network to a certain
platform above ground, so you
have good coverage and just leave
it there. Then once you need to
decommission it you just fly the
drone down.”
He added that the system
doesn’t have to be deployed on a
drone. “The communication system
itself is just 3.5kg, including the
battery pack, so it’s very light and
compact and highly portable which
is why it can go on a drone, but it
can be mounted almost anywhere.”
The group is now considering
follow on projects that expand the
scope of the technology. Ultimately,
they hope to make the technology
available to first responders on the
scene of terrorist attacks or natural
disasters.
jon excell reports
ACCOLADE FOR AME
Coventry University’s Institute
of Advanced Manufacturing and
Engineering (AME) has been
presented with a prestigious
Queen’s Anniversary Prize at
Buckingham Palace for its
pioneering work in creating
industry-ready graduates.
Known as the UK’s first ‘faculty
on the factory floor’, AME gives
students direct access to live
manufacturing projects and
access to the latest technologies
in a bid to future-proof and
accelerate their careers. Over 200
students have completed or are
working towards their degrees.
SUB SKILLS SECURED
Highly-skilled positions in
manufacturing, engineering and
design are being created at Thales
following the award of a contract
to provide sonars and sensors
to the Royal Navy’s Dreadnought
submarines. BAE Systems
Submarines, which is building
four nuclear submarines for the
Royal Navy, awarded the contract
which is worth around £330m.
The next-generation Dreadnought
submarines are expected to enter
service from the early 2030s to
provide the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
OFFSHORE RADAR ALLIANCE
A government competition is
looking for technological solutions
to mitigate the risk to radar
systems posed by offshore wind
farms. Launched by the Defence
and Security Accelerator, the
£2m innovation competition is
looking for solutions that can
deliver future offshore windfarm
mitigation for UK Air Defence
surveillance, including alternative
technologies that could fill or
remove gaps in radar coverage.
The competition could remove
some of the barriers to more
widespread windfarm rollout.
Read more at
www.theengineer.co.uk
The Royal Navy could add extra-large
autonomous submarines to its fleet
following the award of an initial £1m for
a test sub.
Plymouth-based MSubs Ltd is to
provide the Royal Navy with a 30m
underwater vehicle with a range of up to
3,000 nautical miles.
Acquired through the Defence and
Securities Accelerator, the Manta XLUUV
(Extra Large Unmanned Underwater
Vehicle) was originally designed and built
in 14 months.
In use, Manta could take part in
surveillance, reconnaissance, and
anti-submarine warfare operations.
“I am enormously excited about
the potential for remotely piloted and
autonomous systems to increase our
reach and lethality, improve our efficiency
and reduce the number of people we have
to put in harm’s way,” said Admiral Tony
Radakin, First Sea Lord.
The first phase of DASA’s Developing
the Royal Navy’s Autonomous Underwater
Capability programme will see an
existing crewed submersible refitted with
autonomous control systems.
If initial testing is successful, up to
£1.5m is available for further tests.
NEWS IN BRIEF
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