Headquartered in San Diego, CA, Qualcomm’s patents have been critical in the development of 4G, 5G, and other mobile communication standards. Since 2015, Qualcomm has been developing communication platforms for drones as well. When NASA began developing the Ingenuity, the first drone to be used on Mars, they had many hurdles to overcome. One such issue was how to send directions to the drone on Mars from Earth, a process that could have a delay of more than 20 minutes while conserving energy. To develop a system, NASA contracted Qualcomm to design a flight platform.

Dev Singh, General Manager of Robotics, Drones and Intelligent Machines at Qualcomm said, “Qualcomm has 200-plus drone customers and if you’re coming across a drone or robot – it’s likely powered by Qualcomm’s robotics and drone technology.” Using the success implemented for the Ingenuity, Qualcomm is now adapting its flight communication platform for Earth bound drones. Its newest release, Flight RB5 5G, is a whole new brain system for drones to ensure the highest degree of flight capability and safety.

With Flight RB5 5G, drones will not be restricted from flying in areas where communication has been traditionally declined. This would include environments such as marine, underground, indoors, or underdeveloped regions. The system’s 5G platform enables a drone to remain in contact with its operator over great ranges in nearly any environment. Even more, the onboard 5G connectivity will allow a drone to maintain an autonomous BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line Of Sight) flight, the holy grail of drone possibilities.

“With high computing and ultra-low power consumption and advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO),” explained Singh, “the Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G drone platform and reference design supports longer flight time and runs more applications simultaneously.” The system enables a drone to visually interpret its surroundings instantly to avoid collisions and carry out missions. RB5 5G has its own internal GPS that can take into account new construction and unexpected obstacles. The flight platform takes multiple technology processes needed for drone applications and combines them into a single credit card sized processing chip.

With Qualcomm’s drone flight platform, a single command center can oversee a fleet of drones. This would mean that drone swarms could be used to actualize drones to their fullest potential. A team of drones could be simultaneously working inside a storage warehouse to take inventory. A fleet of drones could navigate an urban setting to complete parcel deliveries. Multiple drones could be dispatched to inspect power grids at one time. Acres upon acres of farmland can be maintained by one operator using a swarm of drones. “The Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform brings cutting-edge capabilities to the drone industry by condensing multiple complex technologies into one tightly integrated drone system,” Singh said. The possibilities are continuously expanding, just like the demand for drones.