Autonomous drone for radio measurement technology

• It must be possible to measure limit values for radio transmitters so that the radiation exposure is not exceeded 

• Challenging measurement objectives and a demanding time horizon require an agile approach 

• Zühlke realised with a fast time-to-market and made the values measurable and visualisable 

STRAPAG checks the installation and the emissions of radio transmitters with a measuring drone. Zühlke develops the software for recording and synchronizing the measurement and position data.

Interface between drone and measuring device

The federal government prescribes limit values that must be adhered to in order to ensure radiation exposure is not too high around residential areas or in buildings. STRAPAG plans to use an autonomous drone to measure and monitor the actual values of the mobile radio transmitters. The company needs a partner as soon as possible with programming know-how for the software interface between the drone and the flying measuring device. 

Short time to market thanks to agile development

In a requirement specification, STRAPAG defines the measurement goals and the timeframe in which the software is to be deployed. Thanks to the agile approach, Zühlke develops a software prototype in a very short time. The next functions to be implemented are agreed with STRAPAG on a weekly basis.

Radiation exposure made measurable

Thanks to the agile project approach, STRAPAG regularly receives new software updates. While their team conducts tests on the latest versions, Zühlke implements the next functions. This ensures the test results are quickly incorporated into the project, allowing STRAPAG to shorten the time to market of the new solution. The software enables STRAPAG to visualise the values and generate a measurement report. These measurements ultimately help to determine the locations of the antenna.