IIT Kharagpur Develops Drones To Bring 5G To Zero Network Area

Thanks to a cell tower, we can connect to the internet and finish our work. However, there are also times when the internet connection is interrupted because of some natural calamity destroying the network infrastructure or faulty equipment.

And when that happens, it would normally take days for us to be able to go back online. To deal with this problem, IIT Kharagpur researchers have come up with a system using unmanned aerial vehicles, basically drones with built-in 5G infrastructure that can work as airborne mobile telecommunication towers.

The team includes Kirtan Gopal Panda, Bharat Dwivedi, Shrayan Das, Aunullah Qaiser with professor Debarati Sen as their supervisor.

According to Professor Sen, with their 5G-connected drone feet, whenever a disaster occurs, they could save the endangered data in a particular location’s telecommunication backbone network in just 3 minutes after the first emergency signal is sent. The data will then be relayed to the rescue server thousands of miles away. Meanwhile, the network connection will be restored via the nearest mobile tower.

Even when network disruptions happen, the drones will switch their location, thus bypassing the jam. The rescue-based services of the drone can also help to search for survivors at locations hit by disasters while providing additional aid and shorten the time needed for first responders.

The team has already submitted a phase I report of the infrastructure system to MEITY with a plan to commercialize the system in the future.

>>> Researchers Make Lighter & Biodegradable Drones With Pineapple Leaves