How Drones Help Visualize the Wireless Grid to Serve Stronger 5G

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Wireless signals have become essential for our daily life — whether WiFi, 3G, 4G, LTE, or the soon-to-be-ubiquitous 5G.
But the physics of those 5G signals may prove to be challenging according to Ryan Anderson, Platform Strategist, CTO Group for Edge Development at IBM.
Our offices and homes and urban spaces were made for the flow of people and vehicles, not electromagnetic signals.
5G may prove a particularly difficult challenge, as physical structures can block certain wavelengths and create wildly uneven or unpredictable coverage in a space.
A side project by Anderson and fellow IBM engineers could become a useful tool in ensuring reliable 5G coverage, as well as bring relief to those hunting around for stronger Wi-Fi signals.
“Project Skittles” uses drones to survey, and augmented reality to help visualize, the imperceptible quilt of connectivity strength that fills anything from a small office or home to a football stadium.
The team believes that the tools can help with better antenna placement and tuning, to help deliver signal coverage and connectivity — a growing challenge for networks ever-more-dependent on speed and low latency.
The impetus for the project came not only from the challenges of maintaining a strong wireless network, but also from the team’s interest in visualizations and new technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality.
The effort combined some available technologies, including consumer drones, augmented reality (AR), and the signal strength receivers for WIFI and LTE network surveys.
The drone would stop, take a signal strength (RSSI) reading, and move on to the next “grid point” in space.
“We were impressed at being able to see the LTE signal “shadows” cast by concrete pillars at Watson West.” Anderson said

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