Elsight, a provider of connectivity for unmanned and autonomous systems, has announced the launch of DroneCommX, an aftermarket upgrade kit that strengthens the functionality and security of DJI’s Matrice 30 and 350 drones.

DJI’s Matrice 30 and 350 drones are widely used in public safety, law enforcement, emergency management and various commercial applications.

According to Elsight, DroneCommX allows users to extend the capabilities of the DJI drones, while overcoming other challenges.

Most notably, commanders and other key personnel can view and analyze the data and video collected by the drone from a remotely located command center instead of watching through the drone pilot’s remote-control console.

All communications are re-routed through DroneCommX’s multi-link LTE connectivity solution, thereby bypassing DJI’s P2P for tighter data security.  

In addition, the DroneCommX enables the DJI drones to fly non-line-of-sight (NLOS) missions. 

Drones in public safety

“These two DJI Matrice drones are widely used by law enforcement and drone first responder teams for all the right reasons across the globe,” CEO of Elsight, Yoav Amitai, said.

“As we are involved with several first responder organizations, we understood that first responder teams would be more effective if they could operate their DJI drone fleet remotely from their headquarters or from a mobile command unit instead of using a hand-held remote-control device.

“With this ‘wider lens’ of viewing all the data and live video streamed from all the drones, commanders and first responder personnel can make better tactical decisions.”

Additional functionality

Elight says that further functionalities of DroneCommX include:

• Robust and secure multi-link bonded LTE communications: an aggregated bonded link of 4 LTE modems using M-TLS and AES-256 encryption replacing the DJI standard 2.4GHz communication 
• Jam-resistant communications: as the connectivity is based on an aggregated multi-link LTE bonded propriety technology, the risk of losing a communication link to a jamming attack is significantly reduced
• Better planning and automation: DroneCommX comes with market-leading, flight operations management software
• NLOS (non-line-of-sight) connectivity: a drone fleet can fly to remote non-line-of-sight distances, while being controlled from a remote location without the need for human observers

Elsight‘s DroneCommX is based on the company’s Halo solution, a multi-link communications system with over 250,000 flight hours logged.

The Halo aggregates multiple IP links to a secure bond using public and private cellular, satellite and RF technologies ensuring uninterrupted drone communications even in the most challenging environments.