Project Details


WSIS Prizes Contest 2022 Nominee

unmanned helium-lifted airship with 5G network to provide communication services for emergency rescue and disaster relief


Description

The project is mainly applied to emergency communication support. When earthquake, flood, debris flow and other disasters occur, the ground traffic is completely blocked, and the terrain of the disaster area fluctuates greatly, the traditional emergency communication vehicle cannot approach the disaster area. In response to the demand for emergency communication, China Mobile, together with Beihang University and Huawei, has carried out research on high-altitude communication, explored air-to-ground communication coverage based on existing rescue and disaster relief means, and made breakthroughs in innovative emergency support methods. At the same time, in the face of maritime communication and network coverage in marginal areas, the need for efficient, cheap and stable communication is urgent. The project realizes the stable coverage of the network with long time standing in the air, high speed, multi-system and large capacity, filling in many research gaps in the field of high-altitude base station in communication, which is of great breakthrough significance.

Project website

http://www.10086.cn/


Images

Action lines related to this project
  • AL C7. E-science 2022
Sustainable development goals related to this project
  • Goal 13: Climate action

Coverage
  • China

Status

Completed

Start date

January 2020

End date

September 2021


Target beneficiary group(s)
  • Refugees and internally displaced people
  • Remote and rural communities
  • People suffered from geographical hazard

Replicability

At present, the project team has lifted the unmanned airship carrying communication equipment to a height of 1,000 meters, realizing long-term air-to-ground network coverage, and greatly improving the deployment efficiency of emergency communications. At the same time, the integrated communication capabilities and payload platforms can also be applied Maritime communications, remote area network coverage, air command platforms, smart cities, etc. Unmanned airship platforms have the characteristics of high stability, long time in the air, and low cost. They can be used in many countries and fields, and are especially suitable for emergency communications. And wide area network coverage.
Unmanned airships have outstanding advantages in stagnant time, coverage, transmission rate, business diversity, and cost of use. The stagnant time exceeds 15 days, and the signal coverage area exceeds 100 square kilometers. It is compatible with 2/4/5G multi-standard networks. It is verified that the unmanned airship can be used as an air communication relay platform to provide communication guarantee for emergency rescue and disaster relief. We mainly completed emergency broadcasts and text messages, which can realize broadcast search for people and disaster relief materials. The emergency communication support capability can be copied to other countries and regions along with the unmanned airship platform.
In terms of industrial applications, the use of unmanned boats for urban security and commercial activities has great advantages in terms of cost, with low energy consumption, high safety, strong load capacity, and 5G network security and reliability. The unmanned boat can be stationed in the air for a long time at a fixed point and will provide commanders with real-time and reliable decision-making information. It can be used for urban environmental monitoring, large-scale activity command, commercial activity publicity, etc.


Sustainability

The unmanned airship has completed the rapid integration of multiple complex systems including buoyancy capsules, energy, propulsion, avionics, flight control and pods. Combined with a lifting platform, the unmanned airship can be deployed to the disaster area as soon as possible to ensure the demand of communication in the disaster area, more efficient than traditional emergency communication vehicles.
First of all, for the unmanned airship's emergency communication support platform, we have already implemented applications such as emergency communication network coverage, broadcasting to find people, emergency text messages, and HD video backhaul. We will continue to integrate new technologies such as live video, big data, converged communication, geographic information, iwulnternet of Things, and artificial intelligence. To realize efficient emergency dispatch and command.
Secondly, in the field of emergency communication, considering different communication security requirements, the unmanned airship can achieve regional coverage, wide-area coverage, regional large-capacity communication coverage in different modes, and meet the communication needs of different business scenarios.
Finally, the unmanned airship mainly responds to the emergency communication needs of sudden natural disasters and is equipped with customized communication relay equipment to provide solutions for the rapid construction of regional emergency communication systems. The project team has initially docked with the HAPS Alliance, hoping to incorporate the research results into the standards and specifications of the HAPS, and contribute key technical strength to the development of communication.
In the future, As the industry develops of high-altitude aircraft, it will inevitably expand to other fields such as intelligent dispatch, fishery exploration, environmental protection, and personnel search and rescue, and business models will gradually diversify.


WSIS values promotion

This project is oriented to emergency communication guarantee, innovatively equipped with China Mobile's wireless communication 5G base station on the unmanned airship, using China Mobile's emergency communication coverage model algorithm, adopting 5G communication innovation technology, and transmitting through highly integrated photoelectric hybrid cable, which can provide all-weather Unmanned airships have greater potential in terms of suspended time, coverage, transmission rate, business diversity, and cost of use. The suspended time exceeds 15 days, the coverage area exceeds 100 square kilometers, and it is compatible with 2/4/5G. Multi-standard network, the project has verified that the unmanned airship can be used as an air communication relay platform, forming a three-dimensional air emergency communication guarantee system together with drones.


Entity name

China Mobile Yunnan Branch

Entity country—type

China Civil Society

Entity website

http://www.10086.cn/