July 20, 2020
A pioneering drone flight demonstration was conducted with 5G connectivity in the frame with of H2020 projects 5G! Drones and 5Genesis of MNL lab. Researchers Dr. Harilaos Koumaras and Dr. Anastasios Kourtis, joined forces and coordinated the activities towards preparing a custom-made drone with 5G-connectivity features.
Currently, there are no commercial drones and flight controllers available in the market with 5G functionality and therefore research endeavors toward this direction is required. The drone successfully tested and lifted-off in May 2020 with the transmission of Communication and Control (C2) over 5G, utilizing the 5GENESIS NPN-5G network within the campus of NCSR Demokritos and the custom-made 5G tethered UAV of 5G!Drones project. This is a pioneering test flight, since currently many research teams worldwide are working towards this convergence of Drone industry with 5G.