Sphere Drones’ HubX Drone Platform Demonstrates Resilience During Optus Outage with Elsight’s Halo Connectivity System
In a recent trial of Sphere Drones’ HubX drone platform at a distant mine in Recent South Wales, the drone’s connectivity remained uninterrupted through the November 8 Optus outage, showcasing the effectiveness of Elsight’s Halo technology. The Curo HubX drone platform, equipped with Elsight’s Halo system, seamlessly switched carriers when the Optus service failed, ensuring continuous connectivity.
Elsight’s Halo system, integrated into the HubX drone platform, provides a redundant multi-carrier connectivity solution. Through the trial, the system seamlessly migrated from Optus to Telstra and Satellite operator Starlink, maintaining connectivity and proving the resilience of Elsight’s Halo system.
Yoav Amitai, Elsight’s Chief Executive, highlighted the importance of the trial, stating, “The Optus outage proves the critical need for Halo’s robust connectivity, making Halo the optimal solution to each common and occasional challenges when using unmanned aerial vehicles, particularly Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) in any environment.”
Elsight’s Halo system is globally utilized for various purposes, including by DroneUp in america, which is expanding its operations for retailing giant Walmart. The Halo system aggregates cellular and satellite connections, ensuring continuous connectivity in areas with low reception.
Sphere Drones collaborated with Elsight to integrate the whole Halo connectivity system into the HubX drone platform. The HubX drone platform, designed for autonomous data collection, operates from anywhere and improves operational safety across industries. It includes an Australian-built all-terrain trailer powered by solar panels and equipped with a connectivity platform acting as a gateway to DJI’s Drone-in-a-Box (DiaB).
The November 8 Optus outage, lasting over 14 hours and affecting greater than 10 million customers, had widespread implications, including disruptions to EFTPOS machines, hospitals, Melbourne Metro Trains, and emergency services calls using the Optus network. Nevertheless, the Sphere Drones’ HubX trial at a distant mine within the Hunter Valley remained unaffected, demonstrating the platform’s robust connectivity.
Paris Cockinos, CEO of Sphere Drones, explained that the HubX platform, with redundancy in critical communications lines, was connected by two Optus SIM cards, two Telstra SIM cards, and an extra satellite connection through Starlink. Despite an initial throughput of 75% to Optus on account of speed and connectivity, the Telstra and Starlink services seamlessly took over through the Optus outage, ensuring zero interruption to customer requirements.
Mr. Cockinos highlighted the importance of redundancy in critical communications lines for drone operators, citing the Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s requirement for constant connectivity. He anticipates that the HubX platform, initially targeted on the mining industry, will find applications in agriculture, utilities, distant infrastructure, and emergency services.
Continuous communication is crucial for Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) drone missions to navigate unexpected obstacles and changing weather conditions. Elsight’s Halo technology played a central role in US drone operator Airobotics receiving approval from the US Flight Administration Authority to fly its data drones over urban areas.
Mr. Amitai emphasized that the successful end result of the HubX platform through the Optus outage will enhance local authorities’ confidence in the whole connection offered by Elsight’s Halo technology.
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