IIT Kharagpur researchers develop UAV-assisted communication infrastructure for 5G

Kolkata: Researchers from G S Sanyal School of Telecommunication at IIT Kharagpur have developed a UAV-assisted communication infrastructure for 5G that can serve as an airborne mobile telecom tower during emergencies. The system includes an android-based application fitted to a fleet of drones which are programmed to create emergency communication networks from the closest available mobile towers, an IIT Kharagpur statement said on Thursday.

“Through intelligent programming, we can deploy our 5G-connected drone fleet in a particular location as soon as the first emergency signal is flagged.

“The data in the telecommunication backbone network is relayed to the rescue server, located thousands of miles away, within the first three minutes of the occurrence of a disaster,” Prof Debarati Sen, who led the research team, said.