Research on urban application-oriented route planning of UAV based on mobile communication network

Currently, there are increasing demands for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in urban application. UAV based on mobile communication network has further breached the limit of transmission distances. Taking into account the inherent characteristics of communication network infrastructures such as blind spots in distribution and space loss, this paper uses the wireless communication model of base station to seek for proper route planning to meet different requirements for urban application with guarantee of signal quality and bandwidth. First, a wireless communication model conformed to local actual situation was derived according to a great number of tests; afterward, the UAV system with signal strength testing and airborne re-planning was designed and both hardware and software platforms were set up. On the ground station, we planned routes through pre-planning module based on the different demand of mobile network communication of specific UAV application, and on the airborne equipment we adjusted the real-time flying route of UAV to achieve route re-planning by signal detection module and other airborne sensors. Finally, relevant simulation and flying experiments were conducted, and these results showed that UAV system could plan the best route that meets different urban application needs and adapts to different communication environment.