Chinese telecom and communications equipment vendor Huawei is working with domestic smart agriculture vendor XAG to test innovations for the smart farm powered by 5G, the next generation of wireless communication.
The collaboration was announced at the recent Huawei Cloud City Summit where the companies agreed to test how 5G could be used as a catalyst to accelerate the development of intelligent agriculture. XAG produces drones, internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence and other digital farming tools to help grow produce without exerting environmental pressure on the planet.
While 5G is in its infancy, many companies are already experimenting with what the technology can do with its faster data speeds and low latency. SK Telecom has launched a series of projects to test how 5G would work with future eSports viewing, enabling high definition television in autonomous vehicles and test HD maps for self-driving vehicles. Verizon has been working with startups to develop new ways for emergency services to do their jobs more efficiently and faster using 5G technology.
According to these companies, 5G has the potential to transform agriculture that has become dependent upon mobile internet and automated devices to achieve real-time, precise production and management. 5G could help expand the system of interconnecting people and a vast diversity of smart agricultural devices.
5G has the potential to raise the speed and precision of data transmission and processing but improve the control accuracy and stability of drones and robots. This could involve surveying drones in real-time to analyze data and generate AI prescription maps onsite.
The partnership will also explore how IoT can be used with 5G and cloud computing to monitor croplands via live videos on mobile phones and improve crop management. Additionally, remote crop disease diagnosis can be done accurately and the technology will allow farmers to increase food safety and relate that information to consumers to increase the trust gap, the companies said.