Connected drones for disaster relief

A trial in Japan has used drones connected via a private LTE network to issue tsunami evacuation alerts.

Sendai City, with a population of over 1 million, is the hub of the Tohoku Region in Japan. The area’s coastal zone was devastated by the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.

In the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, Sendai has become recognised internationally through the United Nations as an exemplar of disaster risk reduction and reconstruction. In addition, it has been designated as a National Strategic Special Zone by the Japanese government, with a focus on the use of the latest information and communications technology by businesses and communities.

In 2017, Sendai City and Nokia concluded a strategic partnership agreement for improving the safety and security of citizens and supporting local industries through the use of Nokia technology.

To that end, the city and Nokia recently conducted a successful test flight of a Nokia drone controlled via a private LTE network provided by Nokia Digital Automation Cloud. The scenario tested the use of drones during a tsunami or other disasters to help in harm prevention and mitigation efforts.

The test verified that a private LTE network could be used to control and communicate with the drones, potentially making them an effective means for enhancing situational awareness and communicating with the affected population during a disaster. According to Nokia, this was the first time this type of trial had been conducted anywhere in the world.

For the purpose of the test, it was assumed that a major tsunami warning had been issued for the coastal area near the Minami-Gamo Water Treatment Centre in Miyagino Ward, Sendai City.

Nokia deployed a private LTE network near the Water Treatment Centre using its plug-and-play digital automation cloud technology.

Nokia Drone Networks is a turnkey solution comprising one or more drones equipped with HD and thermal cameras, a private LTE wireless network, a flight command and control centre, and video analysis applications.

According to Nokia, private LTE/4G provides “seamless and secure connectivity, making it more suitable for mission-critical use cases than the mostly Wi-Fi-based technology used in public mobile networks”.

During the simulation, the testers used the drone’s loudspeakers and cameras to deliver recorded and real-time voice messages to people on the ground, and conducted aerial monitoring using the cameras’ images and streaming video.

The testers were able to issue a tsunami warning to evacuees and monitor the tsunami arrival zone and coastal areas using the drone’s cameras.

They were also able to guide people on the ground to safe evacuation sites using the drone to convey spoken directions and monitor the movements of evacuees.

The test demonstrated how first responders can provide help during disasters when their own personnel are unable to reach the affected sites, or when it would be unsafe to do so.

“The use of these drones seems to be very effective in ensuring the safety and security of Sendai and its surrounding areas,” said Sendai City Mayor Kazuko Kohri.

“The demonstration by Nokia showed that we should be able to respond faster and provide better information to the people in the most affected areas during a potential disaster. We are very hopeful that Nokia Drone Networks will help us to reduce risk for our citizens.”

Going forward, the partnership between Sendai City and Nokia will continue to promote the use of Nokia technologies to help improve the safety and security of citizens, revitalise local industries and promote the technological development of local companies.

“We are very pleased that we have successfully completed this drone flight demonstration with Sendai City, highlighting the effectiveness of using drones and private LTE for disaster prevention and mitigation,” said John Harrington, Head of Nokia Japan.

“Nokia Drone Networks has [already] been adopted by the Red Cross in the Philippines as a social infrastructure for disaster relief operations. Based on this demonstration, we hope to contribute to disaster prevention and mitigation for Sendai City and other local governments in Japan.”

5G control

In a related development, Optus and Ericsson have conducted a demonstration of what they claim is the first operation in Australia of a tele-operated drone controlled over a live 5G network.

The demonstration flight took place at Optus’s Macquarie Park campus in Sydney.

As well as teleoperation of the drone, the drone also transmitted HD video via a 5G handset over the live Optus 5G network as part of a future use case demonstration.

In addition, the test used cloud computing processors to analyse the imagery and intelligently identify and track objects. The ability to communicate with such edge cloud processors will likely enable drones to safely fly beyond visual line of sight in the near future.

The bandwidth and speed of 5G will give drones the capability to conduct video surveillance, real-time streaming and real-time intelligence gathering via remotely located operators, ie, when incidents take place in hazardous, remote or inaccessible areas.

Optus and Ericsson have tele-operated a drone via a live 5G network, at Optus’s Macquarie Park campus in Sydney. Image courtesy Optus.

“It’s incredibly exciting to be testing this future drone technology on our live 5G network. We already have customers using and benefiting from our 5G network now and showcase provides a glimpse into the future possibilities that 5G will enable,” said Dennis Wong, Optus Managing Director Networks.

“As we build out our network and it reaches maturity in around 18–24 months’ time, we will start to see these use cases put into action thanks to the ultra-high reliability and low latency provided by 5G, which is critical in supporting these technologies,” he added.

“We are pleased to support Optus in this latest 5G technology showcase. 5G represents a key mobile technology evolution, opening up a variety of possibilities and applications,” said Martin Wiktorin, Head of Ericsson Singapore, Brunei and Philippines and Global Customer Unit Singtel.

Optus already has more than 290 5G sites installed around Australia, which use both Ericsson and Nokia equipment.

Images courtesy of Nokia.