Swiss telecoms company Swisscom will launch a nationwide network of drone docking stations in collaboration with Nokia in the coming years. Emergency services and business customers across the country will be able to use drones on demand to perform various tasks. The drones will be able to perform these tasks autonomously, out of the pilot’s sight.
The largest network of drone boxes to date
The drones will be available to customers 24/7, based on a “drone as a service” model. For information security purposes, all data obtained is stored on servers in Switzerland. According to Nokia and Swisscom, this is the largest network of drone boxes worldwide to date. Nokia is responsible for the hardware and software, while Swisscom will focus on services and regulatory compliance.
The premise is that the drones can be used for a variety of applications, from inspections to emergency response and security. The drones operate from remotely controlled docking stations, where they are recharged after each flight. Thanks to the strategic placement of a total of 300 drone boxes, almost the entire country can be covered.
Each station includes a drone, a docking station, a ground control station, and a payload of video and thermal cameras. The solution also supports interfaces and APIs for easy integration with third parties, such as traffic monitoring systems, video management software, dispatch solutions, and industrial inspection and process monitoring systems.
Improving the safety of emergency services
One promising application of this new network is in the emergency care sector. In emergency situations, drones can quickly arrive on site to assess the situation from the air. Thanks to sensors, these drones can detect potential hazards and thus improve the safety of first responders on the scene.
Rapid analysis of the situation allows for better coordination of emergency services, which can ultimately save lives. Data collected by drones in the first minutes after an incident gives emergency responders the information they need to respond more efficiently and effectively.
Air inspection and monitoring
In addition to supporting emergency services, drone docking stations will also play an important role in carrying out inspection and monitoring missions. Infrastructure can be inspected regularly and on demand by drones, which provide detailed data in various formats, such as orthomosaics, point clouds, 3D models and BIM models.
This makes it possible to identify natural hazards more quickly and to monitor the landscape more precisely. The accuracy and regularity of these inspections increases safety and ensures better management of infrastructure in Switzerland.
Public Safety
The geopolitical landscape is changing, and so is the need for advanced security solutions. Autonomous drones provide a modern and cost-effective solution for monitoring the perimeter of critical infrastructure.
Through continuous patrols, these drones can quickly detect potential threats and prevent unauthorized access to protected areas, making them an essential part of security in an era of increasing technological and geopolitical challenges.
The Future of Autonomous Drone Operations
With the launch of 300 drone docking stations, Switzerland is taking a major step towards creating an advanced network that promises to not only make industrial processes more efficient, but also significantly improve public safety.
The announcement of the Swiss Drone Fund Network follows the CityMesh initiative in Belgium, where a nationwide network of dozens of first-response drones is currently being deployed. Nokia is also a partner in this project.
Both initiatives demonstrate that in the future drone operations can be carried out anywhere and anytime on demand for different tasks, without the need for drone pilots on the road. In the Netherlands, the Drone2Go project aims to create a similar network of drone boxes that can be used by a variety of service providers. However, in our country, BVLOS flying is only possible to a limited extent in a few test areas.
(Source: Swisscom, Nokia)
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