Nokia is delivering a CE-certified, turnkey drone-in-a-box (DIB), designed to meet the expanding needs of organizations including public safety agencies, smart cities, construction, energy and defense.

The European-made Nokia Drone Networks product includes Nokia drones, a docking station, a dual gimbal camera, and edge cloud processing with the help of Nokia MX Industrial Edge (MXIE). By connecting over public and private 4G/LTE and 5G networks, customers will benefit from the highest level of reliability. More data can be streamed than with Wi-Fi thanks to the increased data rates and reduced latency provided by cellular connectivity technologies. Beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations with real-time kinetic (RTK) positioning improves situational awareness. Dual modem connectivity allows Nokia drones to connect to multiple networks at once, complying with system redundancy that is commonly required by aviation regulatory bodies.

The drone can be controlled remotely for missions like search and rescue, and damage assessment in hazardous environments. In addition, Nokia drones can be programmed to manage autonomous scheduled flights for purposes like enhanced security at large events or regular remote equipment inspections. The docking station protects the drone and payload (such as sensors or dual gimbal camera) from external hazards and bad weather while remotely charging the drone to prepare for the next flight.

Data from Nokia drones can be gathered and processed in real time at the edge cloud when used in conjunction with Nokia MXIE. Using an open API framework, agencies and businesses can integrate pre-integrated Nokia and third-party applications and systems and benefit from the growing number of compelling use cases for drone automation in public safety and Industry 4.0, such as object identification, tracking, and network measurements.

When used in conjunction with Nokia MXIE, data from Nokia drones can be collected and processed in real time at the edge cloud. An open API framework allows agencies and enterprises to activate pre-integrated Nokia and third-party applications and systems and benefit from a growing number of compelling use cases for drone automation in public safety and Industry 4.0, such as object identification, tracking, and network measurements.

Nokia and the New York Power Authority have already demonstrated the use of the Nokia Drone Networks, connected over private LTE, for transmission line inspection.
 
Thomas Eder, Head of Embedded Wireless Solutions at Nokia, said:

Our mission is to reshape the industrial UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) market, providing enhanced situational awareness to aid search and rescue, surveillance, and other UAV operations in a wide variety of industries. Nokia Drone Networks has been designed to comply with the remote operation requirements of aviation regulatory bodies such as EASA in Europe and FAA in the United States. This will help us address growing market demands as a turnkey provider with a solution designed and produced in Europe. The unique feature set enabling the integration of Nokia drones with third-party applications will aid the transformation of the drones, allowing them to be used as a flying data collection platform leveraging reliable 4G and 5G edge cloud connectivity.

Due to its distinct hardware architecture, integrated software improvements, and 4G/5G connection, Nokia drones can fly for more than 50 minutes and reach distances of more than 30 km, depending on the deployed configuration.