2020/11/06 by Boris Galkin, Érika Toledo da Fonseca, Galkin, Boris +11
Engineering · #Advanced MIMO Systems Optimization #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Millimeter-Wave Propagation and Modeling #Networking and Internet Architecture (cs.NI) #UAV Applications and Optimization
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2011.03236
openalex publication_date 2020/11/06 · openalex created_date 2022/07/25 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology is becoming increasingly used in a\nvariety of applications such as video surveillance and deliveries. To enable\nsafe and efficient use of UAVs, the devices will need to be connected into\ncellular networks. Existing research on UAV cellular connectivity shows that\nUAVs encounter significant issues with existing networks, such as strong\ninterference and antenna misalignment. In this work, we perform a novel\nmeasurement campaign of the performance of a UAV user when it connects to an\nexperimental two-tier cellular network in two different areas of Dublin city's\nSmart Docklands, which includes massive MIMO macrocells and\nwirelessly-backhauled small cells. We measure Reference Signal Received Power\n(RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal to Interference and\nNoise Ratio (SINR), the downlink throughput, and the small cell handover rate.\nOur results show that increasing the UAV height reduces the performance in both\ntiers, due to issues such as antenna misalignment. The small cell tier,\nhowever, can maintain relatively stable performance across the entire range of\nUAV heights, suggesting that UAV users can successfully connect to small cells\nduring their flight. Furthermore, we demonstrate that while the UAV handover\nrate significantly fluctuates at different heights, the overall observed\nhandover rates are very low. Our results highlight the potential for small\ncells in urban areas to provide connectivity to UAVs.\n