Optus is touting the future potential use of 5G connected drones for video surveillance.

The company showed off the use of its 5G network to enable a drone to transmit HD video and access cloud computing systems to track and identity objects.

The tele-operated drone flight was part of a showcase of potential uses of 5G at Optus’s Macquarie Park campus in Sydney.

Optus stated that the ability for drones to track and identify objects would be important in enabling them to fly beyond visual line of sight. It also touted the potential use of 5G connected drones for video surveillance.

“In the future 5G technology has the potential to use drones to provide video surveillance, real-time streaming and real-time intelligence to a remotely located operator from locations where line of sight is not possible, such as in dangerous, remote or inaccessible areas,” the Optus statement reads.

“As we build out our network and it reaches maturity in around 18-24 month’s time we will start to see these use cases put into action thanks to the ultra-high reliability and low latency provided by 5G which is critical in supporting these technologies,” stated Dennis Wong, Optus Managing Director Networks.

Optus stated that is has more than 290 5G sites, which use Ericsson and Nokia equipment.