Nokia may be out of the consumer electronics market for now, but the company is still looking for ways to be ahead of the game. The company is currently testing the viability of using drones to examine cell towers, which would reduce the need for its human personnel to risk their lives climbing up for a visual inspection.
The proof of concept trial was conducted in the Dubai International stadium, where a Nokia drone carried a smartphone to conduct network tests and line of sight testing between tower; a camera mounted on the drone was also used to inspect the cell tower itself.
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Nokia is hoping that drones will allow it to cut down on the frequency of which technicians have to climb up cell towers; an exercise that carries the risk of falling, especially if done in bad weather. The company has already used drones to design the network, and detecting if trees interfered with a frequency being used, determining power requirements, and latency simulation.
Drone use is quickly becoming more common for commercial use, and it could only be a matter of time before these become more widespread. In this case, it makes sense due to the fact that people have been trying to get machines to perform dangerous tasks instead of risking human beings.
[Source: ZDnet]
