The latest proposal from the drone manufacturer, Parrot, ANAFI Ai, has a specific feature to attract attention – 4G connectivity. But how useful it will be to fly long distances in a drone whose useful flight time is less than 25 minutes remains to be seen.
ANAFI Ai is the first commercial drone to use 4G as the primary data connection between the machine and the operator. The network agnostic drone integrates a 4G radio module (in addition to Wi-Fi radio), allowing operators to transmit 1080p video with very low latency (300 ms).
Technically, this “game-changing” innovation gives professionals the freedom to control the drone at any distance, allowing flights beyond the line of sight (BVLOS). But what does this mean in the real scenario, when the 900-gram drone comes with a flight of 32 minutes?
Read more: Parrot launches ANAFI Ai – 4G Enterprise drone
Is it worth Parrot’s 4G connectivity premium?
Weiliang Zhang, founder of Avetics Global, a drone solutions company based in Singapore and Malaysia, questions the need for 4G when the useful flight time is at most 23-24 minutes. He he says:
If you fly at 10m / s for a return trip of 14 km or a return trip of 7 km, this is still within the range of native transmission systems for other drones. To see also : Scalable Software Defined Networking Market Latest Trends and Growing Business Opportunities 2021-2026 – The Manomet Current. Then, why pay a 4G premium?
Zhang’s thoughts are echoed by David Benowitz of DroneAnalyst, a former DJI Enterprise professional who whims:
Parrot has long refused to upgrade from terrible Wi-Fi technology, but then jumps to 4G? The feature is available on the BVLOS flight market, but flight time and drone speed are limiting factors. 4G would be great for a VTOL with a fixed wing or transition; I’m not sure that 900 g of quadcopter makes sense. I also see how a 4G connection can add reliability to the construction industry, but even then a better software-defined radio (SDR) would be more cost-effective.
Interestingly, the price of the ANAFI Ai drone has not yet been revealed. But from its looks, Parrot would like to position the drone as a competitor to the Skydio X2, which starts at $ 10,999 with the Skydio Enterprise Controller and accessory package.
And if this is really going to be a benchmark for Parrot, it should be noted that ANAFI Ai uses stereoscopic cameras mounted on a 311-degree rotating cardan shaft to avoid obstacles. Meanwhile, Skydio’s commercial drones are equipped with six 4K navigation cameras and powerful on-board AI for 360-degree obstacle avoidance.
4G connectivity for safer, more stable flights with drones
Returning to the topic, it is worth noting that at Wednesday’s drone launch event, Henri Seydou, founder and CEO of Parrot, did not play long-haul flights as much as he emphasized the security and stability of the connection that comes with 4G connectivity. Read also : Orolia Selected to Deliver the Next Generation Galileo GNSS Simulator. According to Seydou:
With the 4G connection, the connection between the drone and the pilot is much more secure. It is possible to fly past buildings or to fly in places where the radio environment is very noisy and yet the connection between the pilot and the drone will remain quite strong.
Romeo Durscher, who heads the public safety department at Auterion, an open source drone software company, is also quick to point out that with 4G connectivity, the drone has become an Internet of Things (IoT) device.
Durscher, who was DJI’s public safety figure for years before joining Auterion, he says:
I remember the time when we launched Mavic Enterprise with a speaker and a spotlight. People said we ran out of ideas. “Why put a speaker on a drone ?!” And yet, the speaker and the spotlight made this drone extremely valuable, setting a new path and thinking. The same will happen with the 4G connectivity of ANAFI Ai. Every drone that needs an SD card for data transfer is a celebrated consumer drone. It sounds harsh, but the future workflow needs to involve deeper data integration.
And you? How do you see the 4G function of ANAFI Ai? Let us know in the comments below!
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