Drone remotely controls forestry machine using 5G
For the first time, a forestry machine has been remotely operated in terrain with limited connectivity – thanks to a drone equipped with 5G. The drone essentially functioned as an airborne cell tower. The forestry machine was tested as part of a research project with Telia, Mid Sweden University, Ericsson, Skogforsk, SCA, Volvo CE, and Biometria.
The forestry machine was transported to a clear-cut area in a forest outside Västerås, where it was connected to a drone equipped with 5G technology. The drone has a coverage range of up to three kilometers but was positioned approximately 500 meters from the forestry machine during the test. The machine operator, however, was located at Skogforsk's remote control lab in Uppsala, over 90 kilometers away.
We can now confirm that it's possible to connect and remotely operate large vehicles via a drone, which essentially acts as a mobile base station in the cellular network – but airborne and mobile. This creates entirely new and flexible opportunities to connect operations working in areas with poor coverage. Beyond forestry and agriculture, the technology can be used in disaster zones where regular mobile coverage has been knocked out.
The next step is to test connecting and remotely operating a scarifier, a much heavier machine that operates in inaccessible terrain.
"Our goal is to improve the working environment for operators, and scarifiers in particular create an especially rough and jarring environment," explains Petrus Jönsson, researcher and deputy program manager at Skogforsk, who participated in remotely operating the forestry machine during the test.
Researchers from Mid Sweden University are participating in the tests and studying factors including the reliability and latency of data communication, which are critical for remote operation. The project examines how drone technology and 5G can enable remote areas throughout Sweden to be operated with remotely controlled vehicles.
"We've collected data from the drone test and will now analyze and evaluate the results. We'll also conduct comparative studies with other types of connectivity, such as Wi-Fi-based networks, and explore additional possibilities with 5G," says Professor Mattias O'Nils at Mid Sweden University.