With the global market for connected commercial drones set to double in value from 2024-2029, growth is being encouraged by secure drones that offer high payloads, long flight durations and feature robust navigation systems. Central to this is the ability to support reliable two-way communication between the control station and supporting platforms. Analyst firm Berg Insight predicts that market value will grow from US$18.6 billion in 2024 to US$37.3 billion in 2029[1], with commercial drones addressing use cases in agriculture, public safety, first response, surveying and inspection, delivery and logistics.
Civil applications are gaining traction with increased adoption for use cases such as: public surveillance at events with large crowds; infrastructure surveying for high voltage lines; package deliveries; and building surveillance to monitor condition of roofs or irrigation compliance of the neighbourhood in times of water restrictions.. Almost all visual outdoor applications utilize commercial drones at a mid-level altitude and are dependent on constant connectivity at low latency to ensure safe operations. The signal travel time to and from drones must be very low to allow for very fast reactions so drones can navigate safely and efficiently.
There are significant technical and operational challenges for commercial drone operators to address. The communications networks selected – typically 5G cellular technologies – must offer high speed bandwidth to enable transmission of video signals reliably and without jitter and eliminate other negative impacts on the user and operator experience. These networks must be ultra-reliable and highly-secure so data cannot be hacked and control of the drone cannot be influenced by malicious actors.
To achieve this assured performance and robust security, commercial drone operators are specifying 5G communications that offer the required low latency combined with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) capabilities to ensure highly accurate positioning. Accurate positioning, which can be enabled down to the centimeter level depending on the application involved, is essential to drone operations.
The drone must be able to precisely arrive at its destination in the case of delivery and logistics drones. In smart agriculture use cases, the drone must be able to precisely record its position relative to crop fields or cattle locations. For infrastructure and building monitoring, the drone must be able to communicate its location accurately so the identified issues can be addressed.
In addition, as drone numbers increase and they need to navigate through areas alongside drones, planes, helicopters and other unmanned flying objects continuous communication of accurate location data is essential for traffic control purposes. Maturing regulations across various global markets make this capability a prerequisite so precise positioning allied to robust, ultra-low latency communications has become the foundational enabler for commercial drones. This combination of technologies meets the demands of commercial drone use cases and is enabled by secure and trusted communication modules that combine both technologies in a compact, light solution that is optimized for drone applications.
Drones have enormous potential to enable significant efficiencies across numerous use cases but there are also substantial risks in terms of security and reliability that need to be addressed to ensure safe, robust operations. The consequences of a hacked drone or one that loses connection to its control platform must be avoided and therefore the security, resilience and trustworthiness of drone components has become a paramount consideration for drone developers, operators and service providers.
To ensure this secure, robust communication and positioning for drones, it’s essential to select 5G, GNSS-enabled modules that offer the highest levels of security and have been tested by third parties to verify performance and security. This is exactly what Wireless Mobility, a German-headquartered specialist with European R&D teams, offers. We deliver secure and trusted communication modules to meet the low latency, high precision location needs of commercial drone use cases.
To find out how our specialists can help ensure your drones have optimized, secure and robust communication and positioning capabilities, reach out for a free consultation.
