Qualcomm Robotics Accelerator Spotlight: SkySense

Qualcomm partnered with Techstars in 2015 to launch a 16 week, 10 team Robotics Accelerator boasting an eclectic collection of ideas ripe for commercialization. Some projects stand alone as consumer products for lifestyle and entertainment, but many fit into puzzles of emerging infrastructure models from drone systems to medical applications. The convergence of these ideas in the near future is as exciting as the individual groups alone.

SkySense develops a wireless, gold-plated charging panel that will be able to service a number of different VTOL (Vertical TakeOff and Landing) drones. By installing connector prongs on the bottom of a drone, the vehicle simply lands on the platform to initiate charging.

These platforms could find a place in a network of geographically dispersed charging bays. Automated service and charging stations could either be privately owned, part of a shared infrastructure project, or belong to a third-party company that allows access to operators for a fee. In any iteration, the concept of ubiquitous charging locations is just one part of a larger, emerging infrastructure for large-scale commercial drone operation.

Obvious security and compliance controls are needed for semi-fully autonomous operations. For example, authentication would need to be processed consistently between individual drones and these charging bays. There would need to be a system of public and private keys attributed to each drone- and they would all communicate with an accredited public database, or registrar. If such controls are in place, we could start to see more automation and less human involvement- further realizing larger potential.

Revitalizing industry

Look at agriculture in the US, for example. SkySense would serve well in rural areas with large swaths of land to cover. Semi-autonomous drone systems are capable of using sensor arrays to monitor farmland in unprecedented detail. The data can be used to make informed decisions to save crops and increase yields.

These aerial vehicles can also take samples and treat crops individually, saving time and human effort. Scheduled fleet systems (a conceptual, self-arranging system of drones capable of conjoining into a single, larger aircraft) could pass through regional agricultural corridors. This would allow yield-carrying drones from different farms to attach and detach for long-distance deliveries.

Socio-economic implications

Using frontier technology to empower local economies by fostering self-sufficiency is healthy for our society. The various components of automation should be viewed as supplementary, rather than substitutional, in terms of human labour and production. It is my belief that automated agriculture would have a complimentary, two-fold effect.

The wave of rich agricultural data collected would call for new domains of managed services. This would require knowledge-workers to manage data collection and create tools to deliver insights. There may also be optional services around creating personalized reports to farmers.

For the farmer, routine labor and maintenance is slashed, allowing more time to plan for next year.

This could involve soil enrichment projects, improving operations or developing direct relationships with local and distant buyers. Nevertheless, it's going to be exciting to see what emerges when SkySense begins integrating with the larger developing ecosystem of commercial services.