UAV communication

UAV satellite communication, navigation and surveillance
Drones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or unmanned aerial systems (UAS)are expected to be an important component of 5G/beyond 5G (B5G) communications. This includes their use within cellular architectures (5G UAVs), in which they can facilitate both wireless broadcast and point-to-point transmissions, usually using small UAS (sUAS). Allowing UAS to operate within airspace along with commercial, cargo, and other piloted aircraft will likely require dedicated and protected aviation spectrum-at least in the near term, while regulatory authorities adapt to their use. The command and control (C2), or control and non-payload communications (CNPC)link provides safety critical information for the control of the UAV both in terrestrial-based line of sight (LOS)conditions and in satellite communication links for so-called beyond LOS (BLOS)conditions. In this paper, we provide an overview of these CNPC links as they may be used in 5G and satellite systems by describing basic concepts and challenges. We review new entrant technologies that might be used for UAV C2 as well as for payload communication, such as millimeter wave (mmWave)systems, and also review navigation and surveillance challenges. A brief discussion of UAV-to-UAV communication and hardware issues are also provided.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION....................................................... 1
2. OPTIONS FOR FUTURE CNPC................................ 2
3. SATELLITE LINK CNPC......................................... 3
4. POTENTIAL 5G TECHNOLOGIES FOR UAV CNPC.......................................................................... 3
5. NAVIGATION AND SURVEILLANCE FOR 5G UAVS4
6. UAV-TO-UAV COMMUNICATION.......................... 6
7. FLIGHT HARDWARE ARCHITECTURE AND TRENDS ....................................................................... 7
8. CONCLUSION........................................................... 7
REFERENCES............................................................... 8
BIOGRAPHY ................................................................ 9
In this paper, we focus on the broader use of UAVs in the context of communications through ground infrastructure as well as satellite systems; see Figure 1. The disparate links (LOS and BLOS) mean different channel conditions and frequencies of operation, with different latency and range, and this increases challenges for the very high reliability required of CNPC links. In addition to existing cellular frequency bands (600 MHz to 6 GHz), the 5th generation (5G) cellular community is also considering the use of 2 spectrum in the millimeter wave (mmWave) bands (24–86 GHz). In these bands, large free-space and tropospheric attenuations limit the link range, thus if the mmWave link is the only LOS link, when beyond the LOS mmWave range, BLOS capability will be needed. Such BLOS links are also of course required when in remote areas, out of range of any ground station (GS). Although satellites are an obvious choice for BLOS communications, the choice of satellite orbit, i.e., low-earth orbiting (LEO) or geosynchronous earth orbiting (GEO), distinctly affects the latency, link budget parameters, Doppler, and handoffs/handovers. In order to maximize frequency re-use, satellite operators are also planning use of narrower beams, which will increase handovers, further stressing connection reliability. Simply because of the much larger link distances, for currently planned BLOS frequency bands (above 5 GHz), to close the link between a UAV and satellite will very likely require the use of directional antennas and adaptively focused beams, i.e., mechanical or electronically steered antenna beams. Similar issues pertain to 5G mmWave links, but with far smaller antenna gain requirements. These issues of adaptive antennas, handovers and others complicate the system software and hardware, increasing the size, weight and power of the communication system.

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Ivan Kozhedub Kharkiv National Air Force University (KNAFU)

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  1. Science
  2. Publications
  3. Systems of Arms and Military Equipment
  4. 2(58)'2019
  5. Determination of criteria for selection of surveying equipment of unmanned aerial vehicles for information support of military campaigns

Determination of criteria for selection of surveying equipment of unmanned aerial vehicles for information support of military campaigns

D. Karlov
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Description: The ability to solve reconnaissance tasks using data obtained from UAVs depends upon the characteristics of the aircraft itself and the characteristics of the onboard surveying equipment. The variety of UAVs from the point of view of their purpose, operational capabilities, characteristics of the onboard surveying equipment, cost, etc. made it difficult to solve the problem of their comparative assessment and selection of optimal samples. The goal of the article is to determine the factors that influence the ability to solve the problem in full, and to formulate the decision-making criteria on the most efficient type of UAV and its payload for survey in the battlefield. To determine the criteria for selection of UAV type and payload at solving the task of surveying, the dependence of the characteristics of the obtained data on the parameters of the surveying equipment and sensing conditions was analyzed. As a result, the following selection criteria were defined: the sizes of CCD-array and CCD-element, focal length, viewing angle, radiometric and spectral sensitivity and frequency of taking photos for survey equipment and positioning accuracy at the moment of photography, speed, altitude and flight time of the UAV, its maneuverability, possibility of onboard survey equipment location. The method for selection of the type and composition of unmanned aerial vehicles payload was developed on the basis of the method of additive convolution of criteria. It involves determination of the coefficients of relative importance of each of the selection criteria and their normalization, that is, bringing the criteria to a single (dimensionless) scale. On the basis of the importance of the criteria and their quantitative evaluation, the aggregate values of the decisions variants are determined as the sum of the products of the estimates obtained over the agreed quantitative scales and the coefficients of the relative importance (weights) of each of the criteria. The best variant is selected on the basis of the integral evaluation of each component of the system.


Keywords: unmanned aerial vehicle, spatial coordinates of the object, characteristics of survey equipment, reconnaissance tasks, multicriteria optimization.

References

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Reference:
 Karlov, D.V. (2019), “Vyznachennia kryteriiv vyboru ziomochnoi aparatury bezpilotnykh litalnykh aparativ dlia informatsiinoho zabezpechennia viiskovykh operatsii” [Determination of criteria for selection of surveying equipment of unmanned aerial vehicles for information support of military campaigns], Systems of Arms and Military Equipment, No. 2(58), pp. 13-16. https://doi.org/10.30748/soivt.2019.58.02.