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The success of UAV missions hinges on countless variables – weather conditions, terrain, battery life, and primarily on reliable BVLOS connectivity. Whether the mission involves surveillance, delivery, or inspection, reliable connectivity is pivotal in ensuring continuous and reliable BVLOS communication for flight control, navigation, and uninterrupted data transmission.
UAV flight planning is the process of laying out flight paths to ensure safe, efficient, and effective operations. Reliable cellular network coverage information is critical for optimized flight planning, however, accurate data on cellular coverage at the altitude of drone flights is not available.
Until now.
Elsight announces HeatSight, a feature offered through the AllSight management platform, providing cellular coverage via accurate, time-aggregated heatmaps that optimize flight paths during the planning stage for mission success.
Table of Contents
What is HeatSight?
HeatSight reveals the intricate landscape of cellular coverage by capturing the actual connectivity experience from a UAV’s altitude. Unlike conventional network measurements, this drone-level viewpoint is visualized in time-aggregated and altitude-based heatmaps, revealing where and when coverage thrives and where it falters.
Leveraging Elsight’s BVLOS technology, Halo-powered UAVs record multiple RF (Radio Frequency) parameters during every flight for each cellular network and across different altitudes and times. These parameters vary from signal strength indicators (RSSI) to metrics like Reference Signals Received Power (RSRP) and Reference Signals Received Quality (RSRQ). The data is uploaded to Elsight’s AllSight Cloud Management platform, where it is aggregated over time to provide a continuously evolving picture of the network coverage landscape from a UAV’s standpoint.
HeatSight is a visualized, time-aggregated cellular coverage mapping across multiple networks and altitudes.
Smarter Flight Planning with Time-Based Intelligence
HeatSight enables UAV operators to identify areas with optimal cellular coverage, as well as troublesome areas with poor cellular coverage, before embarking on a mission. By analyzing historical data, operators can choose the network paths with the strongest coverage and plan routes that avoid coverage dead zones.
Unlike traditional coverage maps that provide a static view of network availability, HeatSight’s four-dimensional approach (longitude, latitude, altitude, and time) reveals patterns that would otherwise remain hidden. For instance, drone operators may discover that certain areas experience signal congestion during specific hours, prompting them to adjust mission timings for uninterrupted connectivity. This actionable intelligence can make the difference between mission success and failure.
Weather Impact Analysis for Adaptive Planning
Weather is a critical factor influencing UAV operations. HeatSight helps operators understand how weather conditions affect connectivity in specific locations. Operators can cross-reference AllSight’s Heatmap data with historical weather information to create specialized flight profiles for various scenarios. For instance, if historical data shows that rain significantly impacts connectivity in certain areas, operators can create flight profiles tailored to such weather conditions. These flight profiles enable them to reroute missions dynamically while ensuring connectivity remains intact. By comparing data from storm and non-storm scenarios, operators can prepare for real-time challenges without relying solely on live data streams.
HeatSight accumulated data allows operators to make informed decisions and quick adjustments based on changing conditions.
Easier Regulatory Compliance
Operating UAVs within regulatory frameworks is a critical concern for drone operators. Many jurisdictions mandate that UAV flights maintain “well-connected” paths, ensuring the drone remains within a stable communication network throughout its mission. This requirement not only safeguards the UAVs’ operation but also ensures public safety by minimizing risks associated with connectivity loss. However, meeting these regulations can be challenging, especially in environments with fluctuating network conditions.
HeatSight simplifies regulatory compliance by providing a detailed and accurate data history of cellular coverage. By continuously aggregating recorded RF parameters such as RSSI, RSRP, and RSRQ, HeatSight creates a comprehensive database that operators can reference for compliance.
Extensive Metrics and Filtering to Optimize UAV Operations
HeatSight offers a unique, drone-level perspective on connectivity, empowering drone operators with actionable data to optimize flight missions and tackle challenges. HeatSight transcends traditional mapping by providing a comprehensive view of connectivity dynamics, incorporating four dimensions: longitude (x), latitude (y), altitude (z), and time (t). The 4D outlook allows operators and telecom providers to see where and when coverage issues occur and at what altitude.
Extensive data filtering allows operators to:
- Analyze historical metrics, such as RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator), RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power), RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality), NR-RSRP, and NR-RSRQ, to identify trends and anomalies.
- Filter data by network technology (2G, 3G, 4G, 5G)
- Assess coverage for specific frequency bands.
- Focus on particular geographical regions.
- Evaluate network performance for individual cellular operators.
Empowering Telecom Providers with UAV Insights
For telecom stakeholders, HeatSight opens a new dimension of network analysis. Traditional methods of evaluating network performance miss the UAV perspective, which can reveal hidden coverage gaps and inconsistencies. Evaluating network performance across various altitudes and locations provides valuable network optimization and expansion planning insights. Telecom companies can assess how network performance varies at different flight levels and frequency bands and detect anomalies, such as temporary outages or signal degradation during specific timeframes, addressing challenges unique to aerial operations.
The future of BVLOS drone operations heavily relies on our ability to understand and navigate the cellular connectivity that keeps drones operational. HeatSight coverage data ensures that drones take to the sky with the highest possible chance of mission success.
Discover the power of HeatSight to take your drones to new heights.
Key takeaways
- Elsight’s HeatSight visualizes cellular coverage from a UAV’s perspective, providing aggregated, four-dimensional heatmaps that reveal when, where, and at what altitude connectivity thrives or weakens.
- HeatSight powers smarter flight planning with actionable cellular coverage data, enabling operators to identify ideal network routes, avoid coverage dead zones, and adjust mission timing.
- UAV operators leverage HeatSight’s time-aggregated data to understand how weather impacts connectivity and create specialized flight profiles for such conditions.
- HeatSight provides a robust, detailed history of RF parameters to meet regulatory requirements for “well-connected” paths, ensuring compliance while maintaining operational safety and public confidence.
- HeatSight’s extensive data filtering options allow pilots to analyze connectivity by signal metrics, network technology, frequency bands, and specific regions or telco operators.
- HeatSight gives telecom companies a unique perspective on network performance at different altitudes and times, helping them detect gaps, plan expansions, and address aerial connectivity challenges effectively.
FAQs
1. How often is HeatSight data updated, and how far back does the historical data go?
HeatSight continuously aggregates RF and connectivity measurements collected during every flight, creating an evolving historical database of cellular coverage conditions across location, altitude, and time. The platform is designed to support long term trend analysis and regulatory documentation.
2. Can HeatSight support regulatory submissions for BVLOS approvals?
Yes. HeatSight helps operators document real world connectivity performance across planned flight routes, altitudes, and operating environments, supporting the communication reliability evidence often required for BVLOS approvals. Historical RF measurements, coverage analysis, and multilink performance data can help strengthen operational risk assessments, SORA documentation, and regulatory submissions by demonstrating resilient command and control capabilities under expected mission conditions.
3. What types of connectivity issues can HeatSight identify before a mission?
HeatSight can identify potential weak coverage areas, network congestion zones, signal degradation at specific altitudes, carrier dead spots, and areas prone to high latency or unstable connectivity. By analyzing historical RF performance across LTE and 5G networks, operators can detect locations where command and control, telemetry, or video transmission may be at risk before the mission begins. This analysis helps improve route planning, reduce the risk of lost links, and increase overall BVLOS operational reliability.
4. What types of RF and connectivity data does HeatSight collect, and how can operators use it?
HeatSight records detailed RF parameters including RSSI, RSRP, RSRQ, NR RSRP, and NR RSRQ across multiple networks, altitudes, and timeframes. The platform is specifically designed to support flight analysis, mission optimization, and regulatory compliance workflows, enabling operators to review historical coverage performance and generate documentation for operational assessments and reporting.
5. How does HeatSight help operators evaluate connectivity risks before a BVLOS mission?
HeatSight reflects the actual connectivity experience from the UAV’s altitude and operating environment, providing a more accurate drone-level perspective than ground-based coverage maps. Accuracy depends on the quantity and quality of collected flight data, network availability, altitude profiles, and environmental conditions such as urban canyons, terrain, congestion, weather, and RF interference. Operators can also correlate historical connectivity data with weather patterns and mission conditions to improve route planning and operational reliability.
