Mon, Oct 25, 2021
Rumors of Apple Drone Exaggerated
UAS enthusiasts may have felt a pang of excitement or anxiety upon seeing the news that clickbait fodder favorite Apple, Inc. received a drone-related patent.
Whatever projects they pursue, their market penetration and unique approach towards the end-user tends to have an effect on every product ecosystem they enter. It’s not an overstatement to say that whatever they do, there will be an industry reaction. The imperious swiss watch industry had a brief, if muted panic upon release of the highest tier Apple watch in 2014, fearing their intricately hand-built watches would be knocked from their $5,000+ thrones, with the ‘quartz crisis’ still lingering in the back of their minds. UAS manufacturers and pilots may rightly fear, then, the changes incoming when they see a sleek, glassy white drone mockup with the apple logo in their inbox. Would their approach to operation and design kick off industry fads that infect the rest of the UAV brands? Thankfully, to an extent, those fears are unwarranted.
Apple’s newest patent pertains to UAS utilization in cellular networks. Now granted, “Systems and Methods for using Unmanned Aerial Systems in Cellular Networks”, describes a methodology for positioning a UAS in a 5G network for enhanced connectivity. The processes described, from a non-technical, layman’s perspective, seem like methods to enhance the communications between a drone, its controller, and the network at large. Command and control is especially vital with unmanned systems, and the newest 5G networks’s weakness lies in the need for high-density placement of antennas for adequate coverage without dead zones. Under the Apple patent, drone operators would be able to maintain their link with a drone out of sight, and out of immediate range of their control, by immersing each part of the operator-drone-network triangle in connectivity.
Until further patents, design trademarks, or product announcements arrive, it’s fairly safe to say that an Apple drone is not coming any time soon.
More News
Hold Procedure A predetermined maneuver which keeps aircraft within a specified airspace while awaiting further clearance from air traffic control. Also used during ground operatio>[...]
Altitude Readout An aircraft’s altitude, transmitted via the Mode C transponder feature, that is visually displayed in 100-foot increments on a radar scope having readout cap>[...]
Aero Linx: European Hang Gliding and Paragliding Union (EHPU) The general aim of the EHPU is to promote and protect hang gliding and paragliding in Europe. In order to achieve this>[...]
Also: Skydio Chief, Uncle Sam Sues, Dash 7 magniX, OR UAS Accelerator US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall was given a turn around the patch in the 'X-62A Variable In-flight>[...]
"The need for innovation at speed and scale is greater than ever. The X-62A VISTA is a crucial platform in our efforts to develop, test and integrate AI, as well as to establish AI>[...]