
Qualcomm Report on LTE for Drones - SkyDrone
https://www.skydrone.aero/blogs/news/qualcomm-releases-detailed-trial-report-on-lte-unmanned-aircraft-systems
======
fest
I hope the next revision of MAVLink (one of the most common message
serialization/transport protocols used for UAVs) will have built-in
encryption.

While systems can encrypt MAVLink messages in transit, I have not seen it
actually done- everyone is relying on security of the physical layer (i.e.
obscurity of telemetry radio frequency hopping/channel negotiation, WiFi
security).

So in most implementations, MAVLink messages are actually transmitted in
plaintext, over plain TCP/UDP connections.

~~~
cnnsucks
Many of these systems are using the amateur radio service bands. Often 5GHz
for video, 2.3-2.4GHz for control and telemetry and less frequently 1.2GHz,
900MHz and 70cm are also used. The FCC doesn't allow encrypted traffic on
amateur bands except for specific cases such as satellite telecommand. I
suppose that has discouraged adoption of cryptography.

What are commercial operators doing? Another limitation of Amateur bands is
that they can't be used for commercial purposes, so licensed commercial drone
operators must be using commercial bands where cryptography is permitted.
Don't know myself; haven't looked into it.

~~~
monkmartinez
> Another limitation of Amateur bands is that they can't be used for
> commercial purposes, so licensed commercial drone operators must be using
> commercial bands where cryptography is permitted.

I don't think so. I think we can agree that many, many commercial operators
use DJI. There are also lots of amateurs using DJI. Both use the same
firmware. There is no option for me to encrypt or unencrypt my Phantom which I
could easily use commercially if I had my FAA Part 107.

~~~
cnnsucks
I see. So they're operating in the ISM portion of 2.4 and 5GHz. In that case
they can encrypt. So the original question seems a good one; why haven't they
yet?

------
sonium
Here is a video of a home-built setup based on Raspberry-Pi [1] and an
opensource software stack on a fixed-wing aircraft. For use on quadcopters the
problem is the latency. Analog FPV systems can achieve around ~20ms latency.

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjAuPoiAmHE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjAuPoiAmHE)

~~~
SkyDrone
You are right, with the current state oft LTE and a digital video pipeline we
are not yet competitive to analog latency. On our Sky Drone FPV system we get
a glass-to-glass latency of ~150ms which is good enough for controlling a
drone at some altitude. It is not good enough for competitive racing though.

But I am confident the time will come. The next gen cellular network aka "5G"
will reduce the network latency significantly and with some new technologies
on image sensors (super high framerate, global shutter, ...), I am confident
that it will eventually make analog setups obsolete.

------
zkms
> A network in communication with UAS must support a mechanism for intercept
> by authorized parties in the event of an emergency. This intercept could be
> simply for status information, for transmission of exclusion zones, or for
> forced landing in extreme cases.

Oh man, lawful intercept features for UAVs, this sure is gonna be interesting.

~~~
andybak
Leaving aside the 'should they be allowed to question' \- let's hope they
succeed in making unauthorized access impossible. That would really suck as a
remote exploit.

Impossible... Hmmmm. Not a word you hear used very often in security
circles...

~~~
chillingeffect
Internet of flying things.

~~~
TeMPOraL
Internet of Flying High-Velocity Bricks...

------
foobarbecue
I watched SkyDrone lie for a couple of years about how far song their supposed
product was, so am kinda surprised to see them back in the limelight. Their
website said "shipping next month" for over a year IIRC. I guess that sort of
thing is the new normal...

~~~
SkyDrone
You are right, we indeed had some problems with our first product "Sky Drone
FPV 1". Our new products are on stock and shipping though. Some background of
what happened: [https://www.skydrone.aero/blogs/news/the-sky-drone-
journey-s...](https://www.skydrone.aero/blogs/news/the-sky-drone-journey-
since-indiegogo-3-years-ago)

~~~
elevensies
Regarding the mistakes section, the technical side of that is something I've
also experienced. When you're working with smartphone derived hardware and
platforms you get a pretty sophisticated platform that can do a lot, but it
also takes a lot of effort to get everything working and stable. And you'll
need to know how to use everything from linux build tools to an oscilloscope.
And then 18 months to 2 years later, a new generation or hardware is out so
you get to start again :-/. Very labor intensive.

------
nitin_flanker
On a side note: Qualcomm is the top patent filer in LTE domain before Intel,
Samsung, and Ericsson. [1] [https://www.greyb.com/top-50-innovative-companies-
of-4g-lte/](https://www.greyb.com/top-50-innovative-companies-of-4g-lte/)

~~~
pyvpx
patents are basically a form of currency now. sad.

edit: or rather, patents are the money, licensing is the currency.

~~~
digi_owl
To me they look more and more like the warheads of a MAD setup.

------
mr337
This looks very interesting and I have two questions:

1\. How much cost in data are we talking about? There are some benchmarks on
what 10min of video uses. Are you able to get cell data cheaper than a normal
consumer?

2\. With a 107 certificate, is it legal to fly this past VLOS and without a
visual observer? Trying to see how this works in the US.

~~~
foobarbecue
No, 107 does not permit flying beyond VLOS. That requires extra permission
from the FAA through a waiver. (I have my part 107 remote pilot's license)

------
mirages
1\. Does the drone attempts to automatically land in case of loss of
connectivity ?

2\. Do you plan selling the drone with ready-to-use sims ?

3\. Is it possible to set up the drone not to fly too far away from the
controller position ?

------
ipunchghosts
All I want to know is when can I fly my DJI phantom via cell network?

~~~
SkyDrone
Unfortunately DJI is not very open to third-party integration (at least for
their consumer drones). So while you will get unlimited range with our LTE
based Sky Drone FPV system, controlling a DJI Phantom is not possible. Any
other drone with open serial telemetry port will work though - like all the
PX4/APM based drones.

~~~
mistermann
Off topic question if you may happen to know: I'm looking to invest ($10k or
so) in one or more publicly traded small cap drone companies - do you happen
to know of any? I'm not necessarily looking for drone manufacturers, but
perhaps more so regular companies that are using drones to enhance their
traditional business (aerial photography would be one example, but too
obvious).

