Orange Polska and Dimetor are working together in the GOF 2.0 EU project to verify the possibilities to enable the safe operation of drones in the airspace via 5G communications.
“Reliable real-time communication between drone operators, air navigation service providers (ANSPs), and other relevant third parties is critical for deploying innovative drone use cases at scale,” according to a Dimetor press release. “Mobile network connectivity allows drones to be conspicuous and safely managed for beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations. For this reason, Orange Polska is using Dimetor’s AirborneRF platform to provide critical connectivity and ground risk information in support of BVLOS drone operations.
To test the capabilities and system integration with the aviation eco-systems, Orange is participating in the pan-European “Integrated Urban Airspace Validation” project GOF 2.0, with major trials and demonstrations in Poland scheduled for the week of 11th of October 2022. The flight test will be conducted in collaboration with the members and partners of the SESAR JU GOF 2.0 consortium project, including PANSA, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency.
“With this solution we provide a platform that will accelerate the airspace digitization and the wide scale and safe deployment of drone services that will benefit our customers and the society in Poland”, says Andrzej Zieliński at Orange Innovation. “As the leading mobile network provider in Poland we are committed for driving innovation with our 4G and 5G networks and services to enable new and revolutionary capabilities and values that drones and IoT services in the skies will bring to our customers.”
“We see Poland as a fast-growing and strategically important location to build up on our success and enable further BVLOS drone adoption in Europe. While in 2019 there were over 30,000 UAV flights registered in Poland, in 2021 this number skyrocketed to over 550,000. It is clear that the share of flights involving professional services (e.g. inspections, mapping, pollution measurements or supervision) operations is consistently rising, and with our partner, Orange, we can make sure those flights are safe, and we are aware of any connectivity and ground risk circumstances in time. “ says Thomas Wana, co-founder and CTO at Dimetor.
During the demonstration, flight data and anonymized & statistical mobile network data will be integrated via AirborneRF into the airspace management platforms used by the GOF 2.0 partners, and will be shared with PANSA, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, continues the press release. As a next step towards the development of this 5G use case, Orange will work with Dimetor in the EU-funded research project GOF 2.0 to analyze the outcome of the demonstration and deliver the technical components needed to provide innovative strategic and tactical services and demonstrate how both crewed and uncrewed aircraft can safely share the same airspace.
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Orange Polska and Dimetor collaborate to enable drone operations
