Drones in a 5G World

Flying magazine wrote an article about the FAA allowing UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) in September of 2023, link here and listed below, where drones can go beyond the VLOS (Visual Line of Sight). This is something that could be on a public network. However, public networks, even the major carriers, do go down. If they go down, then what?

Your drones have to be smart and know to return compared to when the self-driving cars shutdown and caused traffic jams in San Francisco back in August of 2023. The cars needed the connection to guide them. I feel this is a major mistake.

If you have a smartphone then you know when they lose connection to the network they tend to lock up.

With a drone, you can’t work that way. The drones usually have brains in them to return to a starting point on their own, with or without the wireless connection.

So, what can a drone do? Well, I have a couple of use cases below.

Delivery – I am not a fan of this because I feel that drones have a long way to go to carry heavy loads. While Amazon is testing this, I wonder how well the actual model will work. The problem right now is the battery and power of the drone. Then I think theft of the drones and the packages they’re carrying will rise. Then I think the weather will mess things up. Also, you need some type of air traffic control to manage all the drones in the air.
Remote inspections – this is something utility companies are trying today. They want to be able to deploy a drone to inspect wires, gas lines, or any type of line where the people need to take spare parts with them. It makes sense to deploy a drone moments after a disaster or storm so that when you dispatch people, they know where to go and what equipment will be needed to do the repair. Bridge inspections are also popular.
Emergency and rescue missions – this is a key tool today in rescue missions. They usually rely on VLOS to control the drone, but if they would connect to a working network then they could deploy them farther and quicker. They would have to hold the controller up in the air to maintain connectivity.
Messaging – delivering actual contracts or paper messages is another thing that could take off when time is critical. There are still courier services in cities because some contracts still require signatures.
Air traffic control – someone has to monitor and track all the drones in an urban or suburban area for safety. For some reason the FAA doesn’t think this is critical, at least not until they transport people in drones. Then they will have to monitor all the air traffic. Granted, all the use cases I have listed will be low flying and out of hazardous air space, but someone will have to track all the drones as traffic gets heavier and heavier.
Venue – This could be a critical service for venues. They need to understand the crowd movement, have security that is mobile and quick, and track problems before it becomes a major issue. Drones with cameras are the nest solution for that. The drones could also deliver critical supplies to a remote area. Think of someone collapsing and the ambulance can get there due to traffic, yet if someone is going into anaphylactic shock due to an allergy, you can get supplies there in minutes. I think having this at sporting events could be a big help, not just to monitor the event and broadcast it but to monitor the crowd for safety and security.
Crowd control – when security teams need support, the best way to see the crowd is from the air. Video is critical in situations where the crowd is not letting people or vehicles through. Not only that but if they record the video, they can review it a day later to identify the people who caused problems.