Reliable Broadband Connectivity for Drone Operations
Overview
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Northern Virginia leverages drones to gather information and respond to a wide range of situations, improving public safety and operational effectiveness. After deploying drones with data-intensive software, the department needed a portable broadband solution capable of high bandwidth to operate its equipment. The Sheriff’s Office purchased a Plum Case for its portable field connectivity needs.
About
Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office has a robust drone operations team of more than 50 members, with five drones, a command vehicle, and a fleet of all-terrain vehicles. Equipped to operate in areas difficult to reach by road, the team frequently travels throughout the region and to nearby states, operating in remote areas with mountainous terrain and poor cellular coverage.
Challenge
Drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), require a wireless connection for field operations in order to communicate with ground control, typically established using a radio frequency (RF) link or a Wi-Fi connection. Although the department had moderate success using portable hotspots and a command trailer equipped with a Cradlepoint wireless gateway, neither could provide adequate bandwidth for their new drone fleet and management system, DroneSense. The DroneSense platform provides an integrated solution for drone operations, data management, and video streaming — and a high-bandwidth, low-latency network is critical to it. Bandwidth requirements increase with the number of drones used, the quality of the video, and the number of users accessing the platform, while low latency is needed for real-time video streaming and drone control.
Solution
The department began searching for a portable broadband solution that could be transported quickly and easily to locations across its coverage area and provide sufficient bandwidth to broadcast real-time video to multiple devices. It tested the Plum Case on a 200-acre property in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, with one objective being a direct comparison of the Plum Case versus hotspots for field connectivity. When the team’s phones and laptops were connected through hotspots, everyone had two bars on LTE. After the department powered on the Plum Case, everyone had five bars and 5G — a connection powerful enough to project DroneSense to ten devices with zero lag.
Outcome
Following the successful field demonstration, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office adopted the Plum Case for its drone program, gaining reliable high-bandwidth 5G connectivity in the remote, low-coverage areas where its team most often operates. The department can now stream DroneSense to multiple devices in real time without lag, giving commanders and field personnel a shared operating picture during time-sensitive situations. With dependable connectivity that travels anywhere the team goes, the office has strengthened both the reach of its drone operations and its ability to protect the public.