5G: More Than Just Speed

by Filed Under: Apps, Augmented Reality, Blog, computers, Douglas MacFaddin, Drones, Gadgets & Devices, Infrastructure Age, Internet, Tech Conferences, Tech Market, Wearable Technology

It all started with 2G, which allowed for mobile devices to connect to the Internet. Then came 3G, which allowed for faster data transfer and opened up the floodgates for many things we take for granted today, such as video streaming and video calling. And, expectedly, 4G increased data speeds, allowing for HD video streaming and game downloading, with some people even using it over their current Wi-Fi connection. And now, the mobile connection market is ready for a new and exciting generation. That’s where 5G comes in. But, it is more than just speed. Obviously, as has happened with all generational updates in mobile network connectivity, 5G will bring dramatically faster speeds, however, it will open up many more possibilities.

According to an article from Cnet, 5G was the talk of the town at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which ran from February 27th to March 2nd. People couldn’t get enough of it, and there’s quite a bit of hype around it. And for good reason. It has the potential to do far more than just make your YouTube video load faster. The technology can be utilized in everything from drone technology to self-driving cars, which is amazing timing considering these are also tech topics that are incredibly hot right now.

In one of the most astounding demonstrations of 5G’s possibilities, Ericcson, NeuroDigital Technologies and medical doctors from King’s College London teamed up to perform a remote surgery on a test dummy using 5G data connections. The doctors used a robotic arm, haptic feedback gloves and a VR headset in order to simulate an actual surgery. The surgery was possible through 5G’s lack of latency. Without any kind of delay, future medical professionals could provide life saving surgeries from across the globe in real time!

Self-driving cars can also benefit from 5G’s speed and lack of latency. The article mentions how, without a signal delay getting in the way, self-driving cars can speak to other cars on the roads in order to provide the safest possible driving experience. 5G can also allow for more precise control of drones while providing higher definition video feedback, and virtual reality can allow for VR users to speak in real time to each other. 5G’s speed transfer is so impressive that it could even totally replace home Wi-Fi connectivity.

As our world becomes increasingly more connected, we will need a data network that can handle and provide faster, more responsive connectivity. And it appears as if 5G will be that network. That is, of course, until 6G comes along.

Up In the Air: Amazon Plans for Distribution Centers In the Sky

by Filed Under: Amazon, Drones

It seems as if the Helicarrier from the popular Marvel’s Avengers comic books and movies will become something of a reality. Amazon, the giant e-commerce store that has been used by hundreds of millions of users around the planet, has recently won a patent for a flying warehouse.

According to a report from NBC News, Amazon filed a patent for an “airborne fulfillment center” which will act as a home base for the company’s drones in order to refuel and refill on goods. These large centers will constantly remain in the air, at approximately 45,000 feet. Amazon believes the process will prove very simple, with customers ordering an item, and having a nearby drone drop down from a delivery center and deliver said item.

The patent also describes that the process will require little power on the drone’s part, stating “when the UAV departs the AFC, it may descend from the high altitude of the AFC using little or no power other than to guide the UAV towards its delivery destination and/or to stabilize the UAV as it descends.”

The patent also describes other potential, practical uses for the AFC. Primarily, Amazon plans for the distribution centers to be used at sporting events, where viewers might want food or merchandise. They can place orders for an item, and have a nearby drone deliver it quickly. The AFCs could also be used as enormous billboards for merchandise. The patent also describes how the drones and fulfillment centers would use mesh networks to communicate with one another.

This is not Amazon’s first foray into the drone delivery market. Just this month, the company’s first ever drone delivery was successfully completed in the U.K., proving that the much talked about process is possible.

Although Amazon has won the patent and has intricate details describing the process and intentions of the AFCs, this does not necessarily mean that they will even see the light of day. It does, however, mean that the possibility of these AFCs filling up the airways is one step closer to becoming real. And it begs the question: is this a good idea? Should we have these large, helicarrier-esque distribution centers hovering above our heads at all times? What would happen if one of those giant centers were to lose power and drop to the ground, potentially killing millions of people? How would these centers be powered, and, depending on the type of fuel, what effects would they have on the environment? And, again, even though Amazon may never actually create the distribution centers, these are very real questions that need to be asked if they plan on moving forward.

Are You Ready to Take Flight with Prime Air?

by Filed Under: Blog, Drones

One of the segments on ‘60 Minutes’ last Sunday night was an interview with Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.  The interview was pretty standard fare, until Bezos made an announcement to Charlie Rose that he had a new initiative to reveal.  The new initiative is to

amazon-prime-airdeliver certain packages to Amazon customers with drones — possibly reducing product shipping time to as little as 30 minutes.

For example, go ahead and click the BUY button for the new Kindle, then make a cup of tea for yourself and when you are done drinking your tea, go out your front door and pick up your new Kindle that was delivered to you by a drone sometime over the last thirty minutes. This scenario is an extremely disruptive concept to standard-fare delivery.

What type of product?  The product(s) would have to be 5 lbs or less which currently represents 80%+ of Amazon’s deliveries.  The customer’s delivery address would need to be within a 10 mile radius of an Amazon distribution center.

A drone?  The delivery system Bezos described in his interview was an octocopter which uses a lithium polymer battery.  One of the big benefits, in addition to expediency, is the green solution provided by the drones, therefore reducing the need for fossil-fuel burning delivery trucks.

The props on the octocopter are fixed-pitch and the motors are attached rigidly to the structure so control is provided by software which throttles the engines to move the aircraft. The feedback loop has to be very sophisticated to insure that the flight plan is achieved.

Projected implementation?  Not before 2015 or a date after the FAA delivers their requirements for unmanned aerial vehicles.

Considerations?  Safety is the primary driver.  How do you build enough redundancy to insure the drone gets to the proper coordinates and returns to the distribution center.  How about exogenous variables such as weather, software glitches, hardware malfunctions, customer delivery receptacles and crowded airspace?  I am sure that most of these issues are addressable.

Jeff Bezos and Amazon don’t get into a business without having a thoughtful plan to move Amazon into a position of market leader.  Bezos realizes that the next great company is always “just around the corner” and without consumer trust and product innovation, Amazon can be replaced.  Clearly, the concept of Prime Air meets the innovation requirement but there will be much competition in this space as the primary delivery companies (ie, UPS, FedEx) are not going stand by idly and let Amazon gut their business.