Deutsche Telekom is to launch a research project on drones and establish if its network can be used to connect them to the internet, and to monitor their flight amongst other air traffic.
The German operator has joined with air traffic controller DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung, courier company Deutsche Post DHL and RWTH Aachen University on the project, which starts in earnest next year.
The quartet said they will establish an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which links with Deutsche Telekom’s mobile network, to ensure the safe integration of drones into flight traffic in uncontrolled airspace. The prototype will also allow drone flights over longer distance.
They will also test drone deliveries of parcels in urban areas, with a view to developing new logistics services. “All those involved are also interested in proving the business case underlying such an overall system,” Deutsche Telekom said in a statement.
Deutsche Telekom will install a module on drones as part of the trial, allowing them to connect to the mobile network and transmit data, including location and system data.
It said such location data from drones might be incorporated into air traffic control systems, which could also feed data back to drone systems via the same data channel, and potential conflicts could be averted.
Bruno Jacobfeuerborn, CTO at Deutsche Telekom [pictured], said: “In the future, unmanned aircraft will need to be able to communicate. This requires a resilient network and technology, the foundations of which we are jointly developing with strong and relevant partners.”
An early trial in Germany demonstrated a broadband data connection could be maintained to an altitude of “several hundred metres”, it said.
DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung estimated there are around 400,000 private and commercial UAS in Germany, which will grow to more than one million by 2020.
Klaus-Dieter Scheurle, CEO of DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung, said: “It is essential for the safe and fair integration of unmanned systems in air traffic that they are connected to the existing air navigation services infrastructure.”
The group have outlined a number of use cases to investigate as part of the programme, including parcel drops and surveillance, with focus particularly on fire-fighting, agriculture and logistics.
DHL has been testing its ‘parcel-copter’ since 2013, and has recently run trials of emergency deliveries of such items as medicines in rural Bavaria.
Nokia has trialled an air traffic management system for drones at Twente Airport in the Netherlands.
It has also tested drones in rural Scotland with EE to establish remote LTE connectivity and parcel deliveries.