Helping Drones Communicate with Joseph Camp, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at SMU

 

Finding a good WiFi signal is becoming a common, daily concern, as our smart devices multiply, especially in the commercial world. Dropping a connection while checking Instagram is not exactly a catastrophe. Losing connection to a drone flying over a disaster area is another story. On today’s podcast, our host spoke with Professor Joseph Camp Ph.D., Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering. After receiving an $850,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to find innovative solutions to improve drone communication, Camp and his team are working toward infrastructure for three-dimensional drone connectivity.

On the podcast, Camp discussed the difference between 2D and 3D communication, the challenge of weight to energy ratio, and the reality of using drones to help solve ground-based network outages during a crisis. “What we found was that, unlike the 2 dimensional communication that we’re used to, we noticed that when we took the drone up to a certain height, that directly below the drone we were having no connectivity to that ground,” Camp said. “And this happened only about 60 feet in the air that we started to experience this effect.”

For the latest news, videos, and podcasts in the Pro AV Industry, be sure to subscribe to our industry publication. A new episode of the Pro AV Show drops every Thursday.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @ProAVMKSL
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

student visibility
Why Student Visibility Matters in Today’s Schools
March 3, 2026

School Safety Today podcast, presented by Raptor Technologies. In this episode of School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies, host Dr. Amy Grosso interviews SRO Todd Brendel of Dayton Independent Schools (KY), who shares frontline insights on the importance of knowing where students and staff are throughout the school day. He explains how they manage…

Read More
skilled trades mentorship
Why the Trades Need a Cultural Reset to Attract and Retain the Next Generation
March 3, 2026

The skilled trades are at a critical crossroads. According to an August 2025 report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), the number of women working in construction and extraction occupations rose to 366,360 in 2024, the highest level ever recorded. Yet despite that growth, women still account for only about 4.3% of construction…

Read More
virtual physical therapy
Virtual Physical Therapy and the Changing Landscape of Athlete Care
March 3, 2026

Virtual care is no longer an experiment—it’s a structural shift in healthcare. Telehealth usage remains significantly higher than pre-2020 levels, and providers across disciplines are rethinking how to deliver higher-quality outcomes without the overhead and insurance constraints of traditional clinics. Meanwhile, recreational and endurance sports participation continues to rise, with millions of Americans registering…

Read More
employer
Why Institution-Wide Employer Alignment Will Define the Next Era of Higher Ed
March 2, 2026

Higher education is at an inflection point. Institutions are facing a demographic cliff in traditional-age enrollment, softening international pipelines, and increasing scrutiny around the return on investment of a degree. At the same time, the World Economic Forum reports that 59 out of every 100 workers globally are projected to require reskilling or upskilling…

Read More