Development and Testing of a Two-UAV Communication Relay System
In the development of beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems, communication between the UAVs and the ground control station (GCS) is of critical importance. The commonly used economical wireless modules are restricted by the short communication range and are easily blocked...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2016-10-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/16/10/1696 |
| _version_ | 1798041209305825280 |
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| author | Boyang Li Yifan Jiang Jingxuan Sun Lingfeng Cai Chih-Yung Wen |
| author_facet | Boyang Li Yifan Jiang Jingxuan Sun Lingfeng Cai Chih-Yung Wen |
| author_sort | Boyang Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the development of beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems, communication between the UAVs and the ground control station (GCS) is of critical importance. The commonly used economical wireless modules are restricted by the short communication range and are easily blocked by obstacles. The use of a communication relay system provides a practical way to solve these problems, improving the performance of UAV communication in BLOS and cross-obstacle operations. In this study, a communication relay system, in which a quadrotor was used to relay radio communication for another quadrotor was developed and tested. First, the UAVs used as the airborne platform were constructed, and the hardware for the communication relay system was selected and built up. Second, a set of software programs and protocol for autonomous mission control, communication relay control, and ground control were developed. Finally, the system was fully integrated into the airborne platform and tested both indoor and in-flight. The Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) and noise value in two typical application scenarios were recorded. The test results demonstrated the ability of this system to extend the communication range and build communication over obstacles. This system also shows the feasibility to coordinate multiple UAVs’ communication with the same relay structure. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:18:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6c4f0019f6cd4e968e5a1c79441cfb28 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:18:18Z |
| publishDate | 2016-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-6c4f0019f6cd4e968e5a1c79441cfb282022-12-22T04:00:18ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202016-10-011610169610.3390/s16101696s16101696Development and Testing of a Two-UAV Communication Relay SystemBoyang Li0Yifan Jiang1Jingxuan Sun2Lingfeng Cai3Chih-Yung Wen4Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, ChinaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, ChinaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, ChinaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, ChinaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, ChinaIn the development of beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems, communication between the UAVs and the ground control station (GCS) is of critical importance. The commonly used economical wireless modules are restricted by the short communication range and are easily blocked by obstacles. The use of a communication relay system provides a practical way to solve these problems, improving the performance of UAV communication in BLOS and cross-obstacle operations. In this study, a communication relay system, in which a quadrotor was used to relay radio communication for another quadrotor was developed and tested. First, the UAVs used as the airborne platform were constructed, and the hardware for the communication relay system was selected and built up. Second, a set of software programs and protocol for autonomous mission control, communication relay control, and ground control were developed. Finally, the system was fully integrated into the airborne platform and tested both indoor and in-flight. The Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) and noise value in two typical application scenarios were recorded. The test results demonstrated the ability of this system to extend the communication range and build communication over obstacles. This system also shows the feasibility to coordinate multiple UAVs’ communication with the same relay structure.http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/16/10/1696two-UAV systemcommunication relaymission control softwareGround Control Station |
| spellingShingle | Boyang Li Yifan Jiang Jingxuan Sun Lingfeng Cai Chih-Yung Wen Development and Testing of a Two-UAV Communication Relay System Sensors two-UAV system communication relay mission control software Ground Control Station |
| title | Development and Testing of a Two-UAV Communication Relay System |
| title_full | Development and Testing of a Two-UAV Communication Relay System |
| title_fullStr | Development and Testing of a Two-UAV Communication Relay System |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development and Testing of a Two-UAV Communication Relay System |
| title_short | Development and Testing of a Two-UAV Communication Relay System |
| title_sort | development and testing of a two uav communication relay system |
| topic | two-UAV system communication relay mission control software Ground Control Station |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/16/10/1696 |
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