The Odisha-based startup IG Drones has developed a 5G-enabled drone that is ideal for defence and medical applications. The drone named ‘Skyhawk’ is India’s first 5G-enabled drone. It can do vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and carry a 10 kg payload with an endurance of about five hours.
Since it does VTOL, the drone can be operated from any terrain and requires no conventional runway. The 5G would let the drone be controlled with more precision directly from the command centre. In the defence sector, the drone’s artificial intelligence and thermal imaging capacities can be used to monitor border intrusion. Skyhawk is also an ideal tool during regular patrolling by the defence forces, claims the company, which is incubated at the Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT) campus in Sambalpur, Odisha. It can give surveillance up to 100-200 km per day.
The drone is IP67 rated and can be controlled through a combination of NavIC + GPS navigational satellites. If there is an internet outage, the drone can function through satellites. If 5G is unavailable, the drone will use 3G, 4G or satellite to operate. The drone has been made keeping mainly the defence and medical areas in mind. Once it becomes successful in India, it would be introduced globally, said the company.
