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Nokia and Deutsche Telekom Enhance Drone Connectivity

Nokia and Deutsche Telekom (DT) push the boundaries of drone operations using Network as Code's 5G capabilities.

The schematic shows the interaction between the drone equipped with a Deutsche Telekom SIM card, Network as Code, DT’s Core Network and Radio Network.

Nokia and Deutsche Telekom (DT) partnered to conduct a cross-country remotely operated drone flight test over DT's public 5G network. The drone was deployed in Bonn, Germany and operated from Belgium using Nokia’s Network as Code (NaC) interfaced with CAMARA API.

The drone flight test was developed to push the boundaries of drone operations with the capabilities of 5G networks. Deutsche Telekom, Europe’s leading telecommunications company, partnered with Nokia to explore how 5G and network APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) can transform industries, including remotely deploying and operating unmanned vehicles.

The Challenges of Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS)header link

Traditional networks have several limitations to support Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations. They cannot ensure the low latency or the high bandwidth required for real-time drone control and to transmit data like video feed over long distances. In the drone flight test, NaC’s 5G capabilities addressed these challenges by enhancing latency and bandwidth for safer and more effective BVLOS operations in compliance with local regulations.

The Solution: Network as Code (NaC) capabilitiesheader link

Third-party application developers used NaC’s developer portal to add specific code segments into their drone application’s API calls. During runtime, when the application made the API calls, NaC managed the interaction to the underlying network. In this use case, the first API call for the device location capability provided the ability to verify the precise location of the drone and then the second API call for Quality of Service on Demand (QoD) capability enhanced network quality, all in real-time.

The code snippet below was the actual code used in the test that demonstrates the process of configuring a network connection tailored for a drone's operational parameters, including real-time location verification and the adjustment of network quality parameters:

import network_as_code as nac

SDK_TOKEN = "YOUR_API_KEY"  

# Configure a connection to Network as Code
client = nac.NetworkAsCodeClient(token=SDK_TOKEN)

# Define the drone device using its phone number (MSISDN)
device = client.devices.get(phone_number="+491XXXXXXXX")

try:
    # Verify that the drone is at Deutsche Telekom, Bonn
    result = device.verify_location(50.72327442108673, 7.142739654690301, 200)
    if result:
        print("[ ] Successfully verified device location")
    else:
        print("[x] Failed to verify device location")

    # Request higher throughput for the drone's connections
    session = device.create_session(service_ip="0.0.0.0/8", profile="QOS_L", duration=10)
    print("[ ] Successfully requested higher throughput")

except Exception as e:
    print("[x] Failed to request higher throughput")

print(e)

This partnership between Nokia and Deutsche Telekom to conduct a cross-country remotely operated drone flight showcases the potential of 5G and NaC to overcome traditional network limitations and sets a new standard for BVLOS operations. It is a significant step towards a future where NaC’s capabilities provide real-time adaptations, enhancing remote deployment and operation of drones for critical services, including emergency medical deliveries and infrastructure surveillance.