On Thursday, Nokia Corp. (NOK.US) said in a joint statement that it had teamed up with Swisscom to deploy a drone network across Switzerland to improve emergency response and infrastructure inspections.
According to the announcement, Nokia will provide 300 drones to Swisscom, which will run the drones through a nationwide drone-as-a-service (DaaS) network. DaaS is a model that allows customers to use drones on demand, without having to buy or operate them. In addition, public safety agencies such as the Swiss police or fire department will be able to request drone flights from Swisscom and access the data collected.
Nokia’s head of embedded wireless, Thomas Eder, said the service could also be used to remotely inspect power lines, solar panels or oil and gas infrastructure. “You can send a drone to a place where you don’t want to send a person because it’s dangerous,” he said.
Unmanned aircraft systems are increasingly being used for freight transport, infrastructure inspections or agriculture, in addition to military applications. Despite legislation aimed at promoting the use of commercial drones, concerns remain about drone surveillance, noise and safety.
Nokia and Swisscom said they would work with aviation and spectrum regulators to comply with data protection laws. They added that the global industrial drone market is worth between $32bn and $35bn.