Sky Drone Flies the 5G Skies with Hong Kong Telecom

UAV-tech firm Sky Drone is taking flight with Hong Kong-based China Mobile HK to navigate the sky path from 4G to 5G.

Under the agreement, CMHK and Sky Drone will promote 5G drone solutions to government agencies and large corporations seeking autonomous UAV systems. Solutions will include infrastructure monitoring, surveillance and delivery coupled with real-time, AI data analysis using CMHK’s government-supported 5G regional lab.

“5G is a game-changer in the world of connected drones,” Sky Drone CEO Boris Boege said. “Our record-breaking, low latency with 4G connected drones will be lifted to a new level by using 5G. Coupled with higher bandwidth and a virtually unlimited range, truly autonomous drones are at the brink of mass market adoption.”

Founded in 2012 as the UAV division of Skylab Mobilesystems, Sky Drone’s product line includes Sky Drone FPV 3, Link 3 and 4G/LTE Upgrade for Yuneec H520 products. The platforms provide a bi-directional low latency data link for command and control as well as a real-time HD video link to a ground control station. Sky Drone’s customers include Intel, Vodafone, Amazon, Wingcopter, European Space Agency, NASA and the Fraunhofer Institute.

In July, German drone provider Droniq and Sky Drone partnered to help pilots better control unmanned aircraft beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS).

Under the partnership, Droniq will use Sky Drone’s platform to offer a hardware package that enhances locating, controlling and transmitting drone data during BVLOS flights. The platform is part of Droniq’s UTM system the firm designed for the German market.

Sky Drone uses similar tech to deliver medicine and vaccines in remote regions of Africa and Europe.

The race to integrate drone and 5G tech has been heating up this year:

Earlier this year, Taiwan-based drone company Coretronic Intelligent Robotics Corp. demonstrated the amplified benefits of autonomous drones and a 5G network via a connection with Chunghwa Telecom, the largest mobile operator in Taiwan.

California-based drone software startup FlytBase has developed FlytNow, a cloud-based drone video streaming and fleet management solution. The platform provides a web-based portal to manage live drone operations remotely over 4G, LTE or 5G.