5G Network Based on Airship Drones will Detect Survivors on Emergency

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A 5G emergency network service that uses airship drones to search for survivors in the aftermath of disasters has been unveiled by South Korean telco KT. The company said it will expand the availability of the service that capitalizes on its 5G network, which will go commercial next year. 5G network is a capital improvement project the size of the entire planet, replacing one wireless architecture created this century with another one that aims to lower energy consumption and maintenance costs.

KT collaborated with local drone maker Metismake to design the helium gas-based airship, called Skyship. It has an attached pod with propellant, network module, high-resolution camera, and a trunk that can deploy smaller drones to the ground, according to msn.com.

It was designed in NACA airfoil and can maintain stable flight in 13 meter-per-second winds. It has a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour and can fly up to six hours.

The airship will also scan for LTE and 5G mobile signals and sync it with the telco’s data to provide the name, age, and other personal information available to rescuers. KT said it will later add medical records so that hospitals and emergency crews can immediately find out the blood type and preexisting conditions of survivors.

Once the airship picks up a signal of a survivor, the trunk will open to deploy the smaller drones that will deliver emergency kits and supplies. It will also send smaller robots on the ground to survivors.

The company will standardize the hardware requirements such as network module and camera to allow third-party development.