Wireless communications is essential for many applications with commercial drones. Omid Semiari interviewed Christian Bettstetter about this exciting topic at the interface of communications and robotics for the latest IEEE ComSoc TCCN newsletter.
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“Drones are here to stay. Get used to it.”
This statement was the title of a TIME article, which was included in the magazine’s special report on “The Drone Age”. We asked Christian Bettstetter to tell us what today’s drones can do and what drone (swarms) are not yet capable of. One thing is certain: Our airspace is going to be much busier in the future.
Robots that sync and swarm: A proof of concept in ROS 2
The swarmalator model for systems in which synchronization and swarming are coupled is implemented and studied for the first time in a technical system. Read More
Guarded access balances out waiting times in transport systems
A transport system with passengers traveling between stations in periodically arriving cabins is considered. We propose and evaluate an access control algorithm that dynamically limits the number of passengers who are allowed to board the current cabin. Simulation of a ski lift using empirical passenger data suggests that such access control can balance out the average waiting times at different stations. The algorithm works well with estimated values of the arrival and de-boarding rates.
UWB connectivity in industrial environments
The connectivity of ultra-wideband (UWB) devices is studied in an aircraft assembly hangar and a production hall. These measurements are the first ones reported for off-the-shelf UWB devices in industrial settings and shed light on this technology’s potential to support emerging industrial applications. Read More
One time for all: Synchronizing time in drone swarms
Wherever several clocks tick simultaneously, it is tricky to get them all to display precisely the same time. This can be a challenge for drone swarms that are airborne together. To tackle this problem, young scientist Agata Barciś is developing new technologies. Read More
Packages delivered by air: Drones as delivery service
What has travelled by road to reach us until now could be delivered by drones in the future. This has many advantages: Poor rural transport infrastructure or persistent congestion in large cities can be bypassed. In 2013, Amazon was among the first to announce the intention to deliver goods using small autonomous drones. But when might this technology truly become part of our daily lives? Drone researcher Pasquale Grippa provides some answers. Read More
Intelligent boarding to ski lifts
A boarding solution for a cable car system that limits the number of passengers allowed to enter a transport cabin has been proposed. Our analysis shows that a shorter waiting time at a particular station worsens the stability of other stations.
5G Playground Carinthia
Austria establishes a test field for 5G mobile systems. It can be used by companies and research institutes to advance their prototypes and products. The concept was presented in a press conference at the ministry for transport, innovation, and technology this week.
Drones get to grips with planning the delivery of goods
A multidisciplinary team at the University of Klagenfurt is due to deliver initial insights on the efficient operation of a drone-based delivery network. Doctoral student Pasquale Grippa will present the results at the Robotics: Science and Systems event taking place at MIT this week.









