Drone for Wireless

A system of autonomous flying robots for sensing and connectivity

Our Goal

Connected robotics is emerging as a key pillar of future wireless networks. As interest in distributed intelligence and 5G/6G connectivity continues to grow, we focus on bridging the sky and the ground by integrating advanced wireless communication technologies with next-generation robotic platforms.

At EURECOM, the birthplace of OpenAirInterface (OAI), a pioneering open-source 5G/LTE implementation, we work toward enabling the future of connected intelligence. Our research centers on designing and prototyping custom drone platforms powered by OAI-based 5G connectivity. We explore a range of applications, including aerial base stations and relays, as well as radio frequency (RF) sensing and localization systems.

Connected Robotics

At EURECOM, we aim to develop a new platform that is the first of its kind in integrating robot intelligence and network management. This platform will offer an end-to-end solution from autonomous robot control to establishing, managing, and optimizing wireless networks (wifi, cellular, etc.). Our solution involves combining various tools from communications and robotics, such as OpenAirInterface (OAI) and QGroundControl (QGC).

Aerial 5G Integrated Access and Backhaul

In April 2023, we demonstrated the Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) capabilities of an aerial robot offering 5G connectivity to ground users. The robot is integrated with a distributed unit (DU) and has 5G wireless backhaul access to a terrestrial central unit (CU). Such aerial robots have less computational complexity than running entire base station applications and can be configured dynamically, tailoring to the network demands. The complete radio and access network solution is based on open-source software from OpenAirInterface and off-the-shelf commercial 5G mobile terminals.

Aerial 5G Relay

In January 2023, we successfully demonstrated the first autonomous aerial 5G relaying. The flying 5G relay is empowered by the world's premier fully open-source 5G protocol implementation (OpenAirInterface) integrated into a custom-built drone.

OAI-powered LTE Drone

In 2017, we developed the first 4G/LTE flying relay based on OAI software. This flying relay could autonomously find the optimal location in the sky maximizing the link throughput between the ground user and the terrestrial base station.

The designed box, shown in the picture, includes the OAI-based relay and a mini-PC (for running the autonomous relay positioning) in a very compact form suitable for mounting on the drone.