Nokia’s LTE drone debuts to save lives

ITRealms:

Nokia has demonstrated the creation of an instant high-speed Long Term Evolution (LTE) network to establish connectivity between video camera-equipped drones and a control center at emergencies, reports ITRealms.

The demonstration of the innovative 'Nokia Saves Lives' initiative took place at the UAE Drones for Good (D4G) Award event, held in Dubai.

ITRealms reports that the network connectivity is often the first priority of any rescue operation since it is often compromised in disaster situations, but Nokia said Nokia said the use of drones will facilitate efficient rescue operations for first responders, using its Ultra Compact Network which is a highly portable base station.

Head, Middle East Market Unit, Nokia, Bernard Najm said, Nokia's Ultra Compact Network provides a standalone LTE network to quickly re-establish connectivity to various mission-critical applications including video-equipped drones.

“Drones can stream video and other sensor data in real time from the disaster site to a control center, providing inputs such as exact locations where people are stranded and nature of the difficulty of reaching the locations,” he said.

The Nokia Saving Lives initiative, he said, was established a control center in a disaster location which analyzes data using Nokia Video Analytics technology to derive useful insights that enable quick decision-making for prioritizing tasks for efficient and safe rescue operations.

“Nokia's Video and Data Analytics solution together with rescue applications and mission advisor tools provide the required intelligence for making appropriate decisions quickly,” he said.

ITRealms recollects that in October last year, Nokia became a member of the GSMA Humanitarian Connectivity Charter which aims to support improved access to communication and information for those affected by crisis in order to reduce the loss of life and positively contribute to humanitarian response. Nokia will continue such cooperation and will partner with operators and NGOs in its initiative to help rescue operations, providing a limited number of its Nokia Saving Lives initiative with a not-for-profit approach. The initiative is currently being tested with operators and NGOs and will be demonstrated at Mobile World Congress 2017.

"Nokia always strives to expand the human possibilities of technologies for the benefit of mankind. We are committed to corporate social responsibility, and with 'Nokia Saves Lives' we want to use our technologies with drones to show efficient rescue operations in collaboration with NGOs and network operators. The selection of this initiative by the UAE Drones for Good Award for a public demonstration in Dubai clearly shows usefulness of this innovative initiative for smart disaster recovery," Najm said.

Remmy Nweke/ED, Ops

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!
Pix: Nokia unmanned drone

Exclusive: Boko Haram effect: N7.9bn needed to save lives across West Africa

ITRealms:

An estimated N7,900,300,000 billion is currently required to save lives and protect those affected by the insurgency attacks by Boko Haram across the four West African countries, reports ITRealms.

The United Nations’ Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, Mr. Toby Lanzer made this disclosure, Friday to ITRealms, saying that the humanitarian teams within the Economic for West Africa Community (ECOWAS) region needs $397 million, about N7,900,300,000 to save lives and protect those affected by Boko Haram insurgency in four countries.

Mr. Lanzer listed these countries to include Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon, all members of ECOWAS.

He also disclosed that the required amount is expected to take care of the Humanitarian Response Plans and Regional Refugee Response Plans.

Citing for instance, that in Chad, two response plans have been launched since this year to address successive waves of displacement in April and September, that is, worth $26million about N5,174,000,000 and $11.5million, about N2,288,500,000 respectively.

Mr. Lanzer revealing this via his Twitter handle @tobylanzer, lamented “Humanitarian teams need $397 million 2 save lives & protect those affected by #BokoHaram in 4 countries.”

ITRealms recalls that the Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition in Africa between the Sahara Desert to the north and the Sudanian Savanna to the south.

Although ITRealms gathered, the Sahel is widely French-speaking, Islamic and takes its name ("shore") from Arabic. But the region, one of the poorest and most environmentally damaged places on earth, has deep troubles.

Sahel, Arabic Sahil, according to Encyclopædia Britannica is semiarid region of western and north-central Africa extending from Senegal eastward to the Sudan, thereby forming a transitional zone between the arid Sahara desert to the north and the belt of humid savannas to the south; thus Sahel stretches from the Atlantic Ocean eastward through northern Senegal, southern Mauritania, the great bend of the Niger River in Mali, Burkina Faso formerly known as Upper Volta, southern Niger, northeastern Nigeria, south-central Chad, and into the Sudan.

Noteworthy is that in the 1970s, the Sahel captured international attention when drought and famine killed nearly 200,000 people.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) +United Nations
ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!