In addition to increasing the safety of first responders, drones support resource optimization and help save lives in incidents. Remotely operated drones gather crucial information in the first minutes after an emergency, improving first responders' situational awareness.
Swiss public safety agencies will be able to easily access the national drone network simply by requesting a drone flight from Swisscom Broadcast, similar to a ride-sharing service. They will also be supported by a portfolio of services from Nokia and Swisscom Broadcast that includes technical expertise, compliance, data collection, and analysis of the collected data.
The rollout is expected to be available throughout Switzerland. Nokia and Swisscom will continue to cooperate with the relevant regulatory bodies to ensure that all operations comply with regulatory frameworks, particularly regarding spectrum and aviation safety.
Drones will also enhance worker safety in Swiss industry, for example, in the inspection of tall or hard-to-reach infrastructure, eliminating the need for workers to climb or walk in hazardous areas. Since Nokia's drone networks are an integral part of the Nokia MXIE platform architecture, they facilitate the integration of additional applications for industrial customers with edge computing needs, such as 3D mapping or asset detection.
The rollout will enable reliable Drone-as-a-Service operations at scale in Switzerland with Nokia Drone Networks, a turnkey Drone-in-a-Box solution that integrates the drone, a docking station, a ground control station, a payload with video and thermal cameras, related software, and service components. The solution also supports interfaces and APIs to facilitate third-party integration, such as traffic monitoring systems, video management software, dispatch solutions, and industrial inspection and process monitoring systems.
This collaboration with Swisscom Broadcast will also enable the advancement of industrial use cases, automation, beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations, and the expansion of 3GPP technologies for drone use in Switzerland.
