Electrical engineers Shengli Fu and Yan Wan from the University of North Texas developed drone prototypes that will fly in pairs and provide wifi during disaster relief efforts. via techly:
Typical wireless connections have a range of about a hundred meters. Fu, Wan, and their colleagues have developed technology that allowed the drones to provide wireless connection access within a range of up to five kilometers or just a little over three miles.
What the researchers did was to equip each of the drones with a directional antenna that can rotate and adjust automatically to create and maintain a strong signal. The drones fly out in pairs because one is made to land in the danger zone or disaster area while the other drone is situated in line of sight of the first drone and within three kilometers or almost two miles. The two drones communicate with each other to provide network access to victims, stranded people, and rescue workers – facilitating faster and more efficient rescue efforts.
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