A private 5G network for fighting forest fires will be exhibited at the Hannover Messe in Germany at the end of the month by the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (FOKUS), a Berlin-based applied information and communications technology R&D organization. Known as the 5G+ Nomadic Node, it is a temporary network that can be set up at short notice in order to connect first responders with each other or to control firefighting robots remotely.
The aim of setting up a mobile 5G campus network is intended to obtain a real-time picture of the fire by using drones during operations in inaccessible areas. The goal of the operation is to control fire trucks and connect the emergency forces with each other.
The entire 5G+ Nomadic Node kit comprises a couple of rugged, transportable server rack containers with the hardware and software required to quickly set up a nomadic, secure 5G campus network.The Nomadic Node uses the standards-based Open5GCore, a software-based core network to run its communications control programs. The Open5GCore makes it possible to set up and make available a 5G network in Standalone mode.
The 5G+ Nomadic Node is part of the ALADIN (Advanced Low Altitude Data Information System) project, which aims to ensure safer forest firefighting in the future using 5G networking of emergency forces and response resources. As a first step, a nomadic network will be set up at the Schönhagen airfield in Brandenburg in the second quarter of this year. ALADIN received its charter from the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure at the beginning of 2021.
“Private 5G networks combined with edge computing enable us to set up secure, near-real-time communication networks both in an industrial environment, such as factory buildings, and in areas without any communication infrastructure, to which we can add a compact variant of an edge cloud with our Nomadic Node kit,” says Marc Emmelmann, ALADIN Project Manager at Fraunhofer FOKUS.
The 5G+ Nomadic Node includes a wireless baseband device connected to the core network, which processes the data to be transmitted and received digitally. An additional server rack container comprises a battery for providing an uninterruptible power supply or a diesel generator as required. An optional antenna system with a satellite connection also comes as part of the equipment.
“In the ALADIN project we need a satellite connection, for instance, to be able to establish a connection with the fire department’s command center, if this is desirable. Depending on the application, our nomadic cell can also be powered via the domestic power grid,” says Emmelmann. The Schönhagen Airport field test will use the 3.7 GHz band to cover an area of 1 square kilometer.
By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
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