Harsh Wireless Conditions? Send In the Drone Hot Spot 20
coondoggie writes "The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has moved along a project it says would use hot-spot enabled drones to bring wireless communications to even the most distant and harsh environments. The project known as Fixed Wireless at a Distance is designed specifically to overcome the challenge inherent with cell communication in remote areas and this week the agency awarded L-3 $16.4 million to support the next iteration of the system."
Why are we thinking fixed wing here? (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm sure that for short-term applications a fixed-wing drone getting its feed from satellites and flying figure-eights over a ground point is what they have in mind. But consider the potential of a quadcopter carrying an access point. Once you guide the drone up to some high point on a crag and set it down, all of the solar power collected by the device can be applied to running the AP, rather than keeping the drone flying. In all but the flattest areas there will be some high but difficult-to-access place, such as a minaret, with some cranny where a drone AP can roost. And if conditions change, you can always reposition it.