Ericsson, Qualcomm and Dronus Successfully Test Drones for Manufacturing and Warehousing Using 5G Millimeter Waves
Ericsson of Sweden announced on May 27 that it has successfully tested an autonomous drone for the manufacturing and warehousing industry, conducted in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies of the US and Italian industrial drone solutions provider Dronus. This 5G millimeter wave drone u...
2024/06/04
Posted on 2024/06/04
Ericsson of Sweden announced on May 27 that it has successfully tested an autonomous drone for the manufacturing and warehousing industry, conducted in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies of the US and industrial drone solutions provider Dronus of Italy. This 5G millimeter wave drone use case is the first step in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in manufacturing environments.
The test was conducted at Ericsson's 5G Smart Factory in the U.S. Drones connected to 5G millimeter waves and optimized for indoor environments were used to perform inventory checks, including automatic barcode scanning.
According to Ericsson, the drone is equipped with a live video streaming camera that enables "a variety of sensing functions" and can be applied to tasks beyond inventory control. The company describes the drone as "one of the first native millimeter-wave 5G devices to be used in factories" and "marks the transition from wired and Wi-Fi connectivity to native millimeter-wave 5G connectivity for industry.
Carlos H. Torres, Head of Industry 4.0 at Ericsson's 5G Smart Factory, commented, "The success of this demonstration will help lay the groundwork for future integration of 5G-powered drones in industrial environments, especially for inventory management." Dev Singh, vice president of business development at Qualcomm Technologies, said, "Our 5G millimeter wave and drone technology has the potential to transform inventory management.
