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AT&T shows off its 5G innovation studio, featuring drones

Mobile network giant AT&T has announced the opening of its brand-new 5G innovation studio, a place for projects, including drones, to be researched, developed, and introduced to the public. A recent project AT&T has shared with us is on drones being used as a test environment for the Microsoft Azure Edge Zone.

The innovation studio will allow AT&T to work on new products and improved solutions for use in the future. The company also shared that space will allow business customers to see what 5G can do for them and how it can change the way they work.

A big project that I mentioned above is using a drone from EVA, cloud services from Microsoft, all running on AT&T’s 5G network. The project is still in the testing phase and looks at how its 5G network can allow pilots to control drones from thousands of miles away. This is important, as many drone operations require beyond a visual line of sight (BVLOS) to make it worthwhile.

The company shared:

AT&T is bringing fast, reliable, secure 5G to more consumers, businesses, and first responders across key areas: sports, retail, education, travel, public sector, and small businesses. AT&T has invested billions of dollars into building America’s Best Network1. We were the first to bring mobile 5G service to the U.S. in 2018, and our unmatched mix of 5G technology promises consumers and businesses of all sizes an exceptional experience – wherever they are.

Once the project and testing are complete, AT&T will take the data captured from it and use it to alter future tests and eventually the way drone operations are undertaken. The company has already been able to fly a drone remotely from the innovation center, suggesting the technology already works but needs some improvement and refinements.

AT&T added:

In this space, we’ll work with customers and industry collaborators to ideate, test, and validate new 5G-centric applications across a variety of industries. One of the biggest benefits of 5G will be the reduction of latency, the increase in bandwidth, and the overall reliability of the network. The studio will harness these network enhancements to improve consumer and business experiences. This includes technologies such as on-premise edge compute (MEC) and edge computes at the network edge (ANE) that when combined with 5G will bring new experiences to life.

Photo: AT&T

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Avatar for Joshua Spires Joshua Spires

Josh started in the drone community in 2012 with a drone news Twitter account. Over the years Josh has gained mass exposure from his aerial photography work and spends his days writing drone content for DroneDJ as well as pursuing his business.