The US army has a unique way of recycling old drones – turning them into Wi-Fi hotspots for troops.
According to spectrum.ieee.org, rather than using old drones to deliver weapons or to conduct surveillance, the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is using them to provide high-speed network connectivity to troops in locations without internet access.
The drones in question are RQ-7 shadow drones, which were used in Iraq for a number of surveillance missions. Instead of attaching large antennas to the drones, they have a low-power pod which holds amplifiers that produce very little noise. This helps boost the signal whilst minimising any possible background noise. The drones can then run on shifts lasting nine hours to provide round the clock network coverage, so troops are never left without a connection.
Dick Ridgway, DARPA program manager, says the first tests in the field with these drones were a big success.
“Missions in remote, forward operating locations often suffer from a lack of connectivity to tactical operation centres and access to valuable intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (IRS) data,” he explains, reports arstechnica.com. “The assets needed for long-range, high-bandwidth communications capabilities are often unavailable.”
It’s possible that this concept could be used in a variety of situations. For example, they could be used in an emergency situation, where internet connectivity would come in handy to rescue operators searching for people in remote locations.
