Drone flights as a service from Swisscom and Nokia
With the Swiss drone network, Swisscom Broadcast is creating a secure infrastructure on the basis of which automated drone flights can be offered and operated as a service. From fall 2024, the network will enable customers to use secure drones for infrastructure inspections, police operations or to protect large areas.
Swisscom Broadcast has been offering customized drone flights as a service for over a year. The collaboration with Nokia Drone Networks now takes the offering to a new level: the so-called Drone-in-a-Box units will improve the broad availability of operationally efficient drone applications for industrial purposes and to ensure public safety. The collaboration will enable the automation of drone operations beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS).
Advantages for various applications
When the drone network is launched, the following three drone services will initially be offered:
- First responder drones in the blue light environment: The use of remote-controlled drones supports the efficiency and effectiveness of blue light organizations. The information gathered from the remote-controlled drones within the first few minutes enables the rapid and coordinated deployment of all emergency services involved. Thanks to sensor-supported aerial reconnaissance of hazards, the safety of first responders on site is increased. The rapid assessment of accident sites, fires or crime scenes increases the speed of deployment, which can save lives.
- Infrastructure inspection: The drone-in-a-box units, which will be distributed throughout Switzerland and connected via the network in future, will improve the safety of people involved in the maintenance of power lines, bridges and buildings. In future, a company with critical infrastructure will be able to simply order a drone when dangerous inspections or inspections that are difficult for people to access are due. Ongoing inspections help to detect and repair damage at an early stage. In this way, companies ensure that their infrastructure is well maintained and that the legal requirements for monitoring critical infrastructure are met. Swisscom Broadcast uses drones from our drone network to fly over infrastructure at intervals specified by the customer, generating detailed image material in the process. This can be used to create a digital twin, for example, if required. Supported by artificial intelligence, it is efficiently determined whether there are significant changes to the infrastructure.
- Strengthening perimeter protection: Geopolitical changes and new technologies may require raising the level of protection of critical infrastructure, production sites, public spaces, prisons, borders and police/military facilities. The perimeter protection solution provided by Swisscom together with partners relies on drones for simple inspection tasks on the ground and in the air. Combined with alarm sensors, the security level of facilities and areas requiring protection can be significantly increased. Automated, drone-based monitoring makes it possible to reduce costs as part of a defined security plan.
Strict regulation of autonomous drone flights
Special drone regulations apply to drone flights that take place outside of direct visual contact. There is a need to minimize risks above (air risk) and below (ground risk). The Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) monitors operational drone flight activities in Switzerland using the "Specific Operations Risk Assessment" method (SORA for short). Together with Nokia and the responsible regulatory authorities (OFCOM), it ensures that all flight activities comply with the legal framework, particularly with regard to frequency use and flight safety.
Drone flights as a service thanks to cooperation with Nokia
Nokia and Swisscom, two companies with many years of expertise in the area of 4G/5G, are working together to develop the drone infrastructure. Both companies have the know-how and corresponding resources to efficiently implement this project with a national impact. Nokia has extensive expertise in the development and production of high-quality software and hardware and has already gained experience in setting up a drone network in Belgium.
In future, customers will be able to access the drone infrastructure developed and produced in Europe via Swisscom Broadcast and obtain drone services from a single source. From consulting, automated piloting and monitoring of drone flights to secure data storage in Swisscom Data Centers.
