Connecting Drones to LTE: Good or Bad Idea? AT&T Wants to Find Out

What happens when you lot connect a drone to the same mobile network that links smartphones, tablets, and wearables? AT&T and Intel intend to find out via a new partnership that aims to test how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) behave on an LTE network.

MWC Bug Art The AT&T Internet of Things (IoT) squad, in collaboration with the AT&T Foundry innovation center, will work with Intel to evaluate how the cellular network at high altitudes affects video streaming, transmissions, and flight information.

"We're using the network to transfer important information, images and video apace and efficiently—far beyond the boundaries of short-range connectivity," Chris Penrose, senior vice president of AT&T IoT Solutions, said in a statement.

Connecting drones to a nationwide network could help address general condom and security concerns, likewise equally challenges similar existent-time communications and potential interference with manned shipping.

"Intel believes UAVs have great potential, from inspections [and] precision agriculture to deliveries of consumer goods and providing emergency disaster relief," said Anil Nanduri, vice president of the New Technology Group at Intel. "We desire to grow this marketplace through our collaborations and by integrating new technologies and compute to UAVs."

Attendees of this calendar week's Mobile Globe Congress in Barcelona tin visit the Intel Drone Zone for a expect at the Yuneec Typhoon H with Intel RealSense, which debuted at CES and will stream video and telematics from the air over AT&T LTE.

AT&T recently appear plans to begin testing 5G technology this yr, in partnership with Ericsson and Intel. With next-generation connectivity, customers will exist able to download a Telly show in fewer than three seconds, and avoid dreaded latency between pressing play and streaming activity.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.