The researchers of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur have developed a portable, drone-based communication network equipped with 5G technology.
The researchers stated that these Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) will be beneficial in emergency situations such as natural disasters when the land-based communication networks are not available due to earthquakes and floods.
Debarati Sen, professor at GS School of Telecommunication, IIT Kharagpur, leads the research team. She said that the whole system can be handled with the android-based application which is fitted to the fleet of the drone.
The fleet of the drone can be used to create emergency telecommunication networks by extending the network available through nearby mobile towers.
According to a group of scientists at IIT Kharagpur, it is important to protect and retrieve the data in emergency situations which should happen in a micro span of time. The battery life of UAVs is the point of concern as a UAV cannot last longer than 45 minutes.
Sen added that in the emergency situation, these drones could be brought in action after the first emergency signal is flagged. The important data then could be retrieved within three minutes of the beginning of the disaster.
The information can be sent to rescue servers established hundreds of kilometres away using the network from the available mobile tower.
The drones are intelligent enough to change their locations and surpass jams and disruptions in cases of network irregularities.
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The drones developed by researchers of IIT Kharagpur can be useful in disaster management and rescue operations. Rescuers who are travelling to disaster-hit areas can be benefited with the cellular networks provided by these towers.
According to Sen, the team has already studied the performance of UAVs in disaster management and their response in emergency situations by launching a fleet of four UAVs. The team also carried out testing operations to check cellular network and coverage of mobile network service providers.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has sponsored the whole program. The research team will submit the report to them soon.
Researchers are now working on making the technology more cost-efficient by reprogramming some modules to make an affordable option for public organizations.
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