Whether you are on set at a movie location, monitoring theme park or zoo audiences, or protecting an industrial location, Nokia Enterprise Solutions has created a platform-based, wireless Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with a focus on superior 5G connectivity. It uses Nokia Drone Networks (NDN)—powered by the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud. An end-to-end solution comprising private and secure mobile broadband cloud connectivity. 

The solution enables a fleet of drones to fly on automated individual missions steered from the NDN ground control station. For maximum versatility, the payload of the drone can be changed, and the Nokia drones can be equipped or enhanced in many ways. The Nokia dual camera gimbal has mounted HD video capability and thermal video cameras. The UAV can also carry equipment such as loudspeakers, search lights, and customizable sensors to detect smoke, motion, and radiation.

In this way, the drones can meet a very wide range of business and industrial applications, from collecting data for perimeter security purposes to facilitating public safety operations in mission critical situations. The deployment of Nokia Drone Networks for public safety use has garnered a lot of attention.

Meeting 5G Communications and Aviation Requirements

It’s imperative that unmanned aviation products meet all the certification requirements demanded by the relevant aviation authorities as well as those expected by customers in the marketplace. The stringent aviation certification constraints, combined with a need for the highest spec 5G connectivity performance presented a considerable engineering challenge. Nokia asked Protolabs to support it in the development of a CE/CB-certified 5G industrial-use UAV solution. Successful manufacturing was achieved through the advice of Protolabs’ team of application engineers and the rapid injection molding of parts; pressed, packed, and shipped to Nokia for assembly.

In aviation, all components must be as lightweight as possible. However, safety is an issue when designing unmanned aviation products such as drones because of the high-capacity battery used to power the device. The compact, but powerful battery can be flammable under certain circumstances, challenging strict aviation regulations. So, it’s vital that materials used within a UAV meet all flammability standards.

Another consideration is that materials must stand up to the robust requirements of outdoor use, such as exposure to fluctuating temperatures, precipitation, and ultraviolet radiation. Does the material become brittle in sunlight? Each of these must be verified. 

A few weeks into the venture, even though tooling had already begun, Nokia had to abandon its first choice of material because it didn’t meet both the certification standards and their precise needs of the application. The Nokia and Protolabs teams went back to the drawing board to find the right material that could satisfy all requirements. After a painstaking search, they eventually found a solution.

They ended up with a two-phase selection process. In the first phase, because there are no qualifying materials within UAV design, the teams looked at materials typically used in the automotive sector that also met aviation standards. Then in the second phase, they matched the material with Protolabs’ machining capabilities. A range of machining capabilities gave Nokia options that ultimately yielded the right material: Emerge 8030-15 (Black PC). Polycarbonates are lightweight, easy-to-mold thermoplastics that are extremely durable and highly resistant to impact and fracture. They are also fire resistant and have insulating properties. The injection molding team adapted the tooling created for the previously abandoned material, saving valuable time and cost to Nokia.

The companies were against a unique manufacturing challenge as the material not only needed to meet stringent aviation safety and outdoor use certification, the material had to allow the drone to perform as a 5G device with connectivity. Many drone manufacturers and other similar manufacturers within the aviation sector include small metal parts inside the device that require connectivity, so the casing and structural parts had to be made of something that wouldn’t interfere with the signal.

“If you use a material that has an EMC shielding, but then have an integrated antenna within the shielded enclosure, this will potentially inhibit connectivity,” said Corpuz. “These drones are basically 5G-connected robots, so the materials used needed to be very carefully selected to work within incredibly tight certification and connectivity parameters.”

And of course, there was the issue of vibrations, shocks, a challenging environment, and the need for lightweight materials. Keeping the drone light meant designing thin walls, which can make it tough to find the correct pressure that will allow for complete resin flow, but not damage the mold. “Protolabs did an outstanding job guiding us through the intricacies of the mold design process, especially considering the new more difficult material. The constant support we received while evaluating different materials was outstanding,” said Jaakko Vuorio, principal hardware engineer, Nokia Enterprise Solutions.

According to Thomas Eder, Head of Embedded Wireless Solutions at Nokia Enterprise Solutions, “It was an extraordinary engineering challenge that was met by extraordinary service from Protolabs. Their efficiency, expertise, attention to detail, and design speed was something that not many other manufacturers could have achieved. Once we had the material locked in, Protolabes molded the parts and shipped them out to use extremely swiftly.” 

The collaboration with Protolabs required no less than 19 different part designs, for both casing and structural aspects of the device, as well as one gasket. The components not only protected the elements inside the drone and provided the necessary aerodynamics required for a high-performance UAV, but they were also intrinsic to the framework of the drone, ultimately holding the device together.

For information: 

Protolabs

Nokia

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