Motorola and Nokia collaborate on mission critical drone tech

Nokia and Motorola Solutions have announced the launch of an integrated drone and AI solution, enabling mission critical organisations to dispatch UAVs remotely.

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According to a statement, the product integrates Nokia Drone Networks with Motorola Solutions’ CAPE drone software. It will enable “enhanced situational awareness, streamlined remote operations and faster decision making.”

Discussing the rationale for developing the solution, a spokesperson said: “Dispatching drones ahead of first responders enables early assessment of a situation's severity, helping to support efficient resource allocation. 

“The new solution enables public safety and mission-critical industries to remotely dispatch drones from one or multiple operation centres at a moment’s notice. [This is to] assess emergencies and hazards, while also receiving AI-powered intelligence that can inform and accelerate decisions to help keep workers, property, and premises safer.”

The spokesperson continued that the CAPE software’s ‘flight-safe’ features adjust the path of the drone, in order to “avoid obstacles, stay within a geofenced area, and adapt to changing terrain altitude, with assistive AI helping operators analyse real-time data.”

Nokia’s drone-in-a-box technology meanwhile connects via 4G/LTE or 5G networks for “broader reach and seamless remote operation beyond visual line of sight.”

Vice president of Nokia CNS enterprise campus edge solutions, Stephan Litjens, said: “We are proud to collaborate with an innovator like Motorola Solutions in this significant step toward a more mature and sustainable drone industry. Together, we are setting technology best practices in drone connectivity and AI.

“With an open API architecture that facilitates easy integration with third-party applications we are transforming drones into daily helpers for public safety and mission-critical operations.”

Corporate vice president of AI and intelligence platforms at Motorola, Jehan Wickramasuriya, said: “We’re innovating where our customers need us most to bring them better intelligence for faster decisions.

"This drone-in-a-box solution furthers our commitment to drone innovation that seamlessly fits within our customers’ current workflows to give those charged with our safety actionable live-stream insights while simplifying evidence collection.”