Vodafone launching new drone safety technology trials

Vodafone announced the start of trials of what it claims is the world's first air traffic control drone tracking and safety technology on Tuesday.

The FTSE 100 telecoms giant said its approach used 4G internet of things (IoT) technology to protect aircraft from catastrophic accidents, as well as prevent inadvertent or criminal drone incursions at sensitive locations such as airports, prisons and hospitals.

It said commercial civilian drones were too small to be tracked by conventional radar, presenting a “serious risk” to pilots worldwide, particularly in the immediate vicinity of airfields and airports.

Drones were also being used for criminal purposes such as drug smuggling and delivering contraband to prisoners, with security and intelligence services also increasingly concerned that terrorists could use drones adapted to carry small but lethal explosive payloads to attack locations targeted using GPS.

Vodafone said the risk to aircraft was growing at an “exponential” rate.

Analysis from the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR) project indicated that by 2050, drones would log more than 250 million flying hours per year over densely-populated areas of the European Union - seven times the cumulative annual flying hours of conventional crewed aircraft.

The Vodafone IoT drone tracking and safety technology trials were set to support the objectives of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), with whom the company was collaborating.

EASA was currently developing new pan-European rules to regulate the operation of drones.

Vodafone said its new technology also enhanced the European Union's potential to become the centre of global innovation in drone technology, in line with the European Commission's ‘U-space vision for innovative and safe drone operations.

Vodafone said the technology was the world's first radio positioning system (RPS) for drones, using a 4G modem and SIM embedded within each drone to enable real-time tracking of each drone - with up to 50 metre accuracy - by drone operators and authorised bodies such as air traffic control.

It would also allow for over-the-horizon and beyond-line-of-sight control by the operator, greatly reducing the risk of accidental incursions when operators lose sight of their drones, along with protective geofencing, with drones pre-programmed to land automatically or return to the operator when approaching predetermined exclusion zones such as airports and prisons.

Emergency remote control intervention would also be a feature, providing authorities with the means of overriding a drone operator's control to alter a drone's flight path or force it to land, along with SIM-based e-identification and owner registration.

The company explained that 4G mobile networks were operating with long-established and proven security systems, including strong end-to-end encryption over-the-air from SIM to base station.

RPS location data was also described as being “significantly harder to hack or spoof” than GPS location data, with the data connection used to control the drone offering the operator “significant advantages” over current drone radio control protocols including greater resilience and over-the-horizon real-time feedback.

The Vodafone RPS was being combined with artificial intelligence algorithms - also developed by Vodafone - to enable very large numbers of drones to be tracked and controlled remotely.

Vodafone had placed its RPS research and associated intellectual property in the public domain with no licensing fees for re-use in order to accelerate the pace of drone safety and geolocation innovation worldwide, the board added.

In a preliminary trial in late 2017, Vodafone used its 4G network to control a 1.3 metre wingspan, 2 kilogram X-UAV drone.

Throughout the preliminary trial - which took place over a 32-kilometre course around the town of Isla Mayor, near Sevilla in Spain - the drone transmitted a real-time HD video feed and flight data including speed, RPS location and GPS coordinates.

Further trials, which were set to be be coordinated with the relevant authorities, were now being scheduled in Spain and Germany through 2018 with the intention of making the Vodafone drone tracking and safety technology available for commercial use from 2019.

The technology behind RPS would also be utilised to boost the functionality of other IoT devices in the future, from luggage tags to bicycles, Vodafone explained.

RPS could support, or replace, GPS in some IoT devices, enabling better location tracking - particularly indoors - the creation of smaller devices and enhanced security.

“This groundbreaking innovation by Vodafone will help to ensure the skies stay safe as drones become ubiquitous, everywhere,” said group chief technology officer Johan Wibergh.

Deputy director general of the European Commission, Matthew Baldwin, added that the commission was supportive of all trials aimed at realising its ‘U-space’ vision for safe commercial drone operations in the EU.

“There is a growing network of demonstrations and projects across the EU.

“We look forward to hearing the results of Vodafone's work.”