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On the February 13th, 2021 episode of Drone Source, host Asaf Raz spoke with Yoav Amitai, Chief Executive Officer for Elsight about connectivity solutions needed for BVLOS. Prior to his work with Elsight as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Amitai also held positions within the company as Operations Manager, Chief Product Innovation Officer, and Chief Operations Officer.
Elsight is a leading Israeli drone technology enabler that is focused on developing the connectivity solutions needed to be able to roll out the next generation of beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) solutions for commercial unmanned aerial services (UAS). Elsight is dedicated to creating global drone technology solutions that help commercial operators achieve regulatory approval and enhanced capabilities for BVLOS operations in their legal jurisdictions that are key to growing their business and scaling profitability in the long term.
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Elsight: Leading the Way to a Truly Commercially Viable BVLOS Connectivity Solution
“Basically, we’re using connectivity solutions to solve the problem of BVLOS communication for drones to be able to apply to various use cases connected to the modern UAS industry. If we’re looking at how this ecosystem will scale into something that will be a viable and lucrative business opportunity or something that will actually be able to grow, beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations will be a must. Without BVLOS, it will be very hard to show a business case for this industry due to the associated tremendous costs, regulatory challenges, and barriers of entry”, said Mr. Amitai. “With our technology and specifically the connectivity part, we’re solving the challenge of commercial beyond visual line of sight operations that must be connected at all times. There are different approaches that eventually sum up to the same conclusion. Either your UAS operations need to be connected with your command and control system very reliably or you need to be connected in order to transmit data in real-time. In many cases it’s both. It’s something that is very challenging and most of our peers in the industry have also found it very challenging. But we are finally able to solve these issues with our solutions.”
Though addressing drone connectivity is one of Elsight’s main focus areas, the company takes a very dynamic view towards solving the leading challenges faced by the global drone industry.
“There are two main basics to operate commercially beyond the visual line of sight. First of all, the battery used as a power source for drones needs to have enough energy resources to be able to go as far as needed, and second, making sure that you will be connected in a robust way to the platforms you are using to control the device and accomplish a given task,” said Mr. Amitai. “This is what we’re solving by using multiple IP networks. We’re supplying the redundancy needed to ensure reliability, guarantee security, and keep everything connected in an all-in-one solution that merges everything and completely solves the BVLOS challenge from regulation, to certification, to business opportunity and scale within this growing market.
The Future of the Commercial Drone Industry is Bright
Yoav is very optimistic about the ability of the industry of drones for commercial use, to scale not only in Israel but around the world: “So when we’re talking about the commercial drone industry, we’re talking about 1000s of drones flying in the same, shared civilian airspace almost directly over people’s heads. Looking at vehicles driving through the streets right now.; And it seems like a very normal thing to all of us, but it wasn’t always like that. It took 100s’ of years to get to the right operational methods, regulations, and infrastructure to support this market. Based upon that, looking at how the markets evolve, it seems normal to me that in the near future, we will see 1000s of drones flying through the air, within cities, outside of cities, and doing different tasks like drone delivery systems, inspections, security missions etc.”
When asked what the drone industry needs to do to move towards a truly scalable market that could someday be as widespread as the global automotive industry, Mr. Amitai had this to say: “So starting with the business, I think that every drone manufacturer needs to think about how he can take his platform and business to true beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) activities and operations and scale from there.”
To learn more about Elsight’s connectivity frameworks for commercial drone operations, visit Elsight
FAQs
1. What is BVLOS and why is robust connectivity necessary for safe commercial BVLOS operations?
BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) allows drones to operate beyond the pilot’s direct visual range. Because the pilot cannot continuously observe the aircraft, reliable command and control, telemetry, and situational awareness become critical. Robust connectivity helps ensure safe operations, supports regulatory compliance, and enables scalable commercial drone services.
2. What connectivity products or architectures does Elsight provide to support BVLOS?
Elsight’s Halo platform uses a multilink architecture that aggregates multiple communication networks, including LTE, 5G, mesh, Wi-Fi, and satellite links, into a single resilient connectivity layer. The platform continuously monitors network quality and automatically reroutes traffic across available links, providing redundancy and helping maintain uninterrupted communications during BVLOS operations.
3. Which drone platforms and payloads are compatible with Elsight’s connectivity solutions?
Halo is designed to integrate with a wide range of commercial, industrial, public safety, and defense drone platforms. It supports standard interfaces such as Ethernet, UART, and serial interfaces, making it easy to integrate with common autopilots, mission computers, cameras, sensors, and specialized payloads.
4. How does Elsight support regulatory approval, certification, and compliance for BVLOS flights?
Elsight supports customers with technical documentation, connectivity performance data, integration expertise, and operational testing assistance. Halo’s resilient communication architecture helps address key requirements commonly evaluated during BVLOS approval processes, including reliable connectivity, redundancy, failover, security, and Remote ID support.
5. What happens if cellular coverage is unavailable during a mission?
Performance depends on available networks, geography, and mission requirements. Halo dynamically utilizes available LTE, 5G, mesh, Wi-Fi, and satellite links to provide low latency, high reliability communications for command and control, telemetry, and video transmission. If a communication link degrades or fails, Halo automatically and seamlessly reroutes traffic through other available networks, helping maintain operational continuity. This multilink architecture helps improve operational continuity in remote, rural, maritime, and other challenging environments where cellular coverage alone may not be sufficient.
