UWE Bristol Engineering showcase 2015

Abigail Dalby
MEng Aerospace Engineering (Systems)
Project Supervisor
Pritesh Narayan
Extending the Range of a Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) without the
use of a Satellite
Satellites are primarily used because of the range that can be achieved, allowing communication with the vehicle from the other side of
the world. The main disadvantage being the cost of setting up a satellite system and maintaining the satellite system, this can cause a
few hours use of the satellite to cost thousands of pounds. High network latency due to the distance the data has to travel is also a
problem and also the need for specialised satellite terminals to communicate with the satellite.
The original idea for this project came from using the mobile network to control
the UAV. One of the most widely available networks is the mobile network; this
can be access in most countries around the world. Originally developed primarily
for transmitting voice (1G) currently includes 2G EDGE & GPRS, 3G and 4G. Each
standard provides different bandwidths and ranges. This idea was extended to
include WIFI as a way to improve the bandwidth.
System Design
The system design is based on UK
regulation and research into
communication bandwidths. The
communications methods chosen
were WIFI, mobile network work
and creating a fully autonomous
system for when the UAV is
outside communications range.
Autonomy Level and Range
The bandwidth required to operate
in different autonomy levels along
with the ranges calculated from the
case study give an overview of how
the system would operate.
Network
Technology
Case Study
A case study of the WIFI standard 802.11g
was built. Data rates are achieved with
varying modulation types. The model was
used to evaluate the BER (Bit Error Rate) of
the transmission. The link budget
calculation was applied and ranges
compared with bandwidth available.
Upload Speed
(Mbps)
Download Speed
(Mbps)
EE
4G 3.1 9.2
3G 0.4 2.5
O2
4G 3.6 9.8
3G 0.4 2
3
4G 5.2 8.4
3G 0.7 3.4
Vodafone
4G 2.2 11.2
3G 0.3 2.2
T-Mobile 2G 0.236 0.236
Bandwidth (Mbps)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Physical
Layer
ERP-
DSSS
ERP-
OFDM
ERP-
PBCC
DSSS-
OFDM
Range vs Bandwidth
Range (m)
Use
Data Rate (Mbps)
Mandatory 1, 2, 5.5, 11
Mandatory 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54
Optional 1, 2, 5.5, 11, 22, 33
Optional 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54
Project summary
The main aim of this project is to design a
system that can extend the range of the UAV
without the use of a satellite. It will primarily
focused on the communication between the
UAV and the operator. This project
investigates the advantages and
disadvantages of using wireless existing
infrastructures (for example the mobile
network), building a new infrastructure and
using autonomous flight to allow the UAV to
travel beyond the range of the operator.
Project Objectives
• Research regulations around flying a UAV
in up airspace and investigate the impact
this will have on the design of the system.
• Select a method for implementing
different autonomy levels and the data
rates required for each mode.
• Produce a case study proving the
feasibility of the different communication
methods for between the ground station
and the UAV.
Project Conclusion
• The project was proven to be feasible
however much more work is needed on
the hardware side.
• All of the numbers are theoretical and
therefore need to be proven to be close to
real world values.
• A combination of 4 layer of autonomy will
be needed to achieve the maximum range.