Glossary

3D cellular reception mapping

As communication is a critical aspect for a successful drone mission, a cellular reception map, especially for the height can be an important factor in planning the route for the drone to fly in.

5G

5G is the 5th generation of cellular networks. It is a new global wireless standard after 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. 5G enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices.

There are two different 5G network deployments, one is NSA (Non-Standalone) and the other is SA (Standalone). For NSA, 5G/LTE dual-connectivity (ENDC) allows devices to access both LTE and 5G simultaneously on the same spectrum band.

5G drone

A drone that leverages the 5G cellular network for control and communication. As 5G is not yet widely spread and mostly exists within city centers, for BVLOS flights LTE support is required and if possible in parallel as a separate bonded link.

6th Sense

Halo’s proprietary AI monitoring solution and connectivity algorithm. 6th Sense lets Halo optimize networks and ensure complete connectivity and network strength.

Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS)

BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) refers to the operation of UAVs and drones at ranges where the operator can no longer see the aircraft with the naked eye. Practically speaking, as well as for the purposes of many aviation regulations, this distance is usually defined at over 500 meters, assuming that there are no obstacles obscuring the aircraft.

In most jurisdictions around the world, drone operators typically require certain permissions to fly BVLOS. These permissions can require a lot of effort and considerations to obtain, and will require the drone to be equipped with enhanced safety such as detect-and-avoid capabilities and a secure and reliable drone connectivity solution.

Cellular Bonding

Cellular binding is the ability to technologically combine several different network links into one aggregated, robust internet connection. In Halo’s case, Halo can aggregate up to four LTE and 5G networks, RF and SatCom into one stable data pipeline.

Commercial Delivery Drones

Commercial delivery drones are unmanned aircraft that have been specifically adapted to carry and deliver a range of different commercial cargo. Long-range delivery drones will fly BVLOS and typically operate autonomously, and shorter-range drones may be used for line-of-sight last-mile delivery, such as between a delivery truck and a residential or business address.

Delivery drones have been successfully tested at a variety of ranges up to several hundred miles, carrying cargo such as post, food deliveries, spare parts and prescription medicine.

Datalinks 

Datalink establishes a connection between two devices, allowing for both devices to send/receive data.

Drone Wireless Communication

As UAVs and drones tend to travel relatively large distances from their ground control stations, wireless methods are the only practical way to transmit and receive control signals, telemetry data, and data from onboard sensors and payloads.

Wireless communications methods for drones and UAVs include Wi-fi and Bluetooth for short-range applications and 3G/4G/LTE and satellite communications (SATCOM) for longer ranges.

eSIM

An eSIM is an embedded SIM card, found inside mobile devices and which is able to connect to operators offering eSIM services. eSIM works similarly to a traditional SIM card, but without the need for a physical SIM card.

GCS (ground control station)

The Ground Control Station is a command and control (C2) center that provides the facilities for and allows for human control over drones or UAVs.

Hybrid Wide Area Network (Hybrid WAN)

Hybrid WAN provides connectivity between two WANs in geographically distinct locations. It uses two different circuits to carry network traffic, which may be a combination of traditional multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) networking, LTE, or Internet. Having a backup circuit allows traffic to bypass the data center and avoid additional latency. Non-critical traffic can be funneled via the Internet, freeing up the MPLS circuit to carry critical traffic.

Hybrid WAN may often be used in conjunction with SD-WAN, in order to take advantage of the latter’s intelligent features that provide enhanced performance and adaptation to dynamically changing network conditions, resulting in optimized bandwidth usage.

Operator Agnostic

Able to work with any mobile network operator.

Remote ID

Remote ID provides a standardized method for authorities to identify individual drones, their pilots, and the pilot’s location, providing crucial accountability and reducing the risk of threats to safety such as collisions with people, property, and other aircraft.

RF

RF is a method of communication between the drone and the ground station/controller. RF is unlicensed and available to everyone, which can lead to overcrowding on the frequencies used for drone control.

Rural Broadband Internet (RBI)

Rural broadband internet refers to methods of providing areas outside of major urban settlements with high-speed internet. These regions may have extremely poor-quality telephone lines, or an insufficient quantity of telephone lines, resulting in extremely slow speeds, and the upgrading and replacement of these lines may be impractical.

There are a variety of different methods that may be used to deliver high-speed internet to areas where cable-based connections cannot be improved or installed. These include radio antennas, satellite communications, and LTE networks (3G/4G/5G).

SATCOM

Short for Satellite Communications, SatCom is the use of network connectivity via satellite to transfer data between two points. 

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)

SASE combines the functionality of SD-WAN with enhanced security in a single cloud-based service at the network edge. The service was developed to address security concerns arising due to more and more network traffic moving through the cloud and over mobile networks rather than enterprise data centers. SASE security components include Secure web gateways (SWG), cloud access security broker (CASB), zero-trust network access (ZTNA), and firewall-as-a-service (FWaaS).

The cloud-based model provides reduced complexity by utilizing a single platform instead of solutions from multiple vendors, and also allows users to easily scale up according to their business needs. Security is consistent for all users regardless of location, due to a single set of policies.

Software Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN)

 A WAN provides networking capabilities that extend over a large geographical area, as opposed to LANs (local area networks) that are typically limited to the same building or campus. WANs may connect multiple LANs together, and may also provide internet connectivity.

SD-WAN improves on the performance of traditional WANs, abstracting the network topology from its actual hardware and using virtualized architecture. The advantages of SD-WAN solutions include increased bandwidth due to the ability to optimize network traffic, centralized management, and less reliance on specialized hardware.

Mobile SD-WAN extends capabilities even further, providing backups to fixed-line networking and allowing the extension of networks into areas without fixed infrastructure.

SWaP

SWaP stands for Size, Weight, and Power – most commonly used in the context of reducing a drone’s overall size and weight dimensions while increasing the drone’s efficiency and lowering its overall footprint.

Type Certificate

FAA Type Certification for a particular model of aircraft confirms that the manufacturer has met particular standards of safety that are deemed necessary for operating in the National Airspace System (NAS).

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

UAVs, or drones, are aircraft that operate without human pilots on board. They may be remotely controlled directly by an operator, or undertake missions with varying degrees of autonomy, which may go up to fully autonomous UAV operations without any human intervention.

UAVs encompass a variety of shapes and sizes of aircraft, from tiny quadcopters that fit in the palm of the hand to drones that are larger than many manned fighter jets. The most common types are multirotors, which use sets of spinning propeller blades to provide lift, and fixed-wing, which utilize lift generated by forward motion and wing shape in the same way as manned aircraft.

Unmanned Aerial/Aircraft System (UAS)

Although the terms are often used interchangeably, technically UAS (unmanned aerial/aircraft system) refers not only to the drone/UAV, but also to all the associated equipment that helps it function, including its sensors, ground control station (GCS), and launch and recovery systems.

Some definitions of UAS also encompass the human pilot controlling the system, and may also include multiple UAVs controlled by the same pilot/GCS.

Unmanned Connectivity

Unmanned connectivity refers to the communication between an unmanned vehicle, such as a UAV or drone, and its ground control station (GCS). Communication links between the vehicle and GCS may be used for command and control, telemetry, and transfer of data from onboard payloads such as video cameras or sensors.

Unmanned connectivity methods include RF (radio frequency) methods (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or ultra-high frequency (UHF) radio), LTE (3G, 4G and 5G), and SATCOM (satellite communications). Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are used only for short distances, and the other methods all allow for longer-range communications.

For BVLOS applications, such as long-distance drones that may pass through a variety of communications environments, a secure connectivity solution will be required that can aggregate all the different methods and seamlessly switch between them according to current conditions and requirements.