LG Uplus, the telecommunications subsidiary of LG Group, announced on Sunday that it signed a business contract with Doosan Mobility Innovation to develop an autonomous drone management platform expanding its network business into new fields.
Doosan Mobility Innovation, an affiliate of Doosan Group, developed a hydrogen fuel cell-powered drone that can fly for more than two hours at a time. The fuel cell drones exceed the flight time of lithium-ion-powered drones with only 20 to 30-minute flight time.
The newly developed drone can fly for up to 80 kilometers non-stop with a single charge. The fuel cell-powered drones won an innovation award at the recently held Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.
The two companies recently signed a memorandum of agreement to explore various business opportunities by joining hydrogen fuel cell-powered drones developed by Doosan with the smart drone management platform.
LG Uplus developed a smart drone management platform that can send photos and videos taken by cameras attached to drones to terminals such as control centers and smartphones via LTE, 4G, and 5G-powered networks. Operators can also remotely command and control the drones’ flight plans, missions, flight routes, and status information via the 4G and 5G networks.
The mobile carrier said that the collaboration between the two companies is expected to boost the development of smart drone business opportunities. The smart drones are attracting much attention from different fields such as military, industrial, and security industries. The company added that the drones would also be widely utilized in the distribution and logistics sector.
In 2018, LG Uplus signed a contract with Doosan Infracore to create a 5G network-powered autonomous construction equipment.
LG Uplus also stated that it would continue to seek new business opportunities in the 5G network-related sector with Doosan Group. Drones will also be helpful in the public sector, such as disaster response.
Under the agreement, LG and Doosan will complete the joint exploration in the drone business and 5G network-powered drone control center by the first half of 2020.
