IIT KGP researchers develop UAV-assisted communication infrastructure for 5G

Researchers from G S SanyalSchool of Telecommunication at IIT Kharagpur have developed aUAV-assisted communication infrastructure for 5G that canserve as an airborne mobile telecom tower during emergencies.

The system includes an android-based applicationfitted to a fleet of drones which are programmed to createemergency communication networks from the closest availablemobile towers, an IIT Kharagpur statement said on Thursday.

''Through intelligent programming, we can deploy our5G-connected drone fleet in a particular location as soon asthe first emergency signal is flagged.

''The data in the telecommunication backbone network isrelayed to the rescue server, located thousands of miles away,within the first three minutes of the occurrence of adisaster,'' Prof Debarati Sen, who led the research team, said.

The disaster-hit network connection is restoredthrough the nearest mobile tower.

In the case of network disruptions, the drones canintelligently avoid it by changing their location.

For people travelling to an affected region and devoidof any cellular network, they can be auto-connected to suchnearby drone service as they search for the mobile network.

''We have already studied the performance of the UAVnetwork with the app 'NerQuake in situations of emergencyresponse in disaster management and maintenance of the qualityof service by deploying a fleet of four unmanned aerialvehicles.

''We have used network coverage data of various mobileservice providers in the northeastern states in verifying thefunctionality of the app,'' Sen said.

The team of researchers has submitted the phase-Ireport to the Union Ministry of Electronics and InformationTechnology which is funding the project.

The researchers are open to the commercialisation ofthis intelligent UAV system.

''The prospects of this system are wide-ranging. Apartfrom a disaster situation, these smart drones can be used forcrowd management. In agriculture, these UAVs can be used forcrop health monitoring,'' the researchers said.

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