Smartphones in the sky: Qualcomm launches first 5G and AI platform targeting commercial drones

A full scale model of the experimental Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which will be carried under the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, is displayed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on Feb 16, 2021, in Pasadena, California. — AFP/Getty Images/TNS

SAN DIEGO: Fresh off being in the limelight for its processors powering NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter on Mars, Qualcomm has rolled out its next-generation technologies for drones on Earth – aiming to drive adoption beyond hobbyists and into commercial industries.

The San Diego wireless technology company announced its Flight RB5 5G Platform this week. It is the first drone system to include 5G connectivity and artificial intelligence technology, which eventually could help enable autonomous, beyond-line-of-sight flights for such things as crop inspection, search and rescue, powerline/wind turbine monitoring, package delivery, mapping and so on.