Elsight unveils HeatSight for enhanced UAV connectivity

Elsight has launched HeatSight, a tool designed to map cellular coverage at drone-flying altitudes, providing crucial insights for safer flight planning of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

This tool is available to users of Elsight's AllSight management platform and provides cellular coverage mapping by offering time-aggregated and altitude-based heatmaps. It evaluates where cellular coverage is stronger or weaker across dimensions of longitude, latitude, altitude, and time.

HeatSight is designed to aid UAV operators in identifying areas with stronger cellular signals, akin to the way the traffic app Waze helps motorists navigate away from congested routes. This is particularly beneficial for Beyond the Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations where maintaining continuous and reliable communication is paramount.

Elsight's Chief Executive Officer Yoav Amitai remarked, "HeatSight reveals the intricate landscape of cellular coverage by capturing the actual connectivity experience from a drone's perspective. Just like Waze enables motorists to find the best routes to their destinations, HeatSight enables effective route planning for UAV operators for BVLOS missions.''

Drone operators using HeatSight can identify potential periods of signal congestion and adjust their flight schedules accordingly to ensure uninterrupted connectivity. It also provides insights into how weather conditions might affect connectivity, using historical data to plan for potential real-time disruptions.

Yoav Amitai noted the intelligence provided by HeatSight, stating, "This actionable intelligence can make the difference between mission success and failure.''

HeatSight leverages Elsight's BVLOS technology and its Halo connectivity system, recording various radio frequency parameters during each flight. This data is consistently uploaded to Elsight's AllSight Cloud Management platform, which accumulates data over time to showcase a dynamic network coverage view from the UAV's perspective.

Highlighting its regulatory implications, Amitai said, "By producing a detailed and accurate data history of cellular coverage, HeatSight could simplify regulatory mandates dictating that UAV flights maintain 'well-connected' paths.''

At the end of last year, Elsight was recognised by The Australian Financial Review, in association with Kearney, as a 2024 Customer Champion. The AFR Customer Champions Award celebrates companies delivering outstanding customer value and experiences, while simultaneously growing revenue and shareholder value.

Amitai commented, "Elsight's selection must be credited to the outstanding value proposition we provide our customers which includes connection confidence for their unmanned aerial and ground vehicles with pathways to regulatory approval and business advantages to scale."

Elsight is focused on delivering connection confidence with proprietary aggregated bonding connectivity to deliver reliable, secure, high bandwidth communications - even in the most challenging areas for stationary, portable, or activity mobile situational systems manufacturers, operators, and integrators for both commercial and defence markets.