Secondary track node for air mesh communication system

Abstract

A radio communication system includes non-orbital air nodes for providing radio routes between land nodes. The non-orbital node has: a plurality of directional antennas pointing horizontally in a plurality of directions for transmitting and receiving radio signals to and from further non-orbital air nodes in a first frequency band; and a plurality of directional antennas directed towards the earth surface to transmit and receive radio signals to and from the plurality of land nodes in different second frequency bands. The air nodes comprise route creation circuitry for creating a radio route between the land nodes via one or more air nodes and data transmission circuitry for transmitting data over the route. The non-orbital node may be a one-piece lighter than air drone, a two-piece lighter than air drone with a suspended communication bay, a heavier than air rotorcraft with or without gas lift force assistance from lighter than air and with a suspended communication bay, or a balloon with a suspended communication bay.

Description

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 334,051, filed May 24, 2022. Background Art

[0003] Issued patents and patent publications of the assignee disclose a variety of space - based systems, methods, and apparatuses for transmitting data via non - terrestrial (air) nodes, including orbital nodes (satellites) and non - orbital nodes (unmanned aerial vehicles and / or balloons). They use novel route creation and data transmission protocols to establish node - to - node wireless circuits between terrestrial nodes, between non - terrestrial nodes, and between non - terrestrial nodes and terrestrial nodes. The assignee's protocols support the transmission of data from a large number of source nodes to individual destination nodes simultaneously via long - distance routes, which can include multiple orbital satellites and / or other types of aerial nodes. These patents and patent publications include U.S. Patent Nos. 10,084,536, 10,085,200, 10,291,316, 10,447,381, and 10,979,136, and publication texts US2021 / 0359751, US2022 / 0029699, US2022 / 0173795, and US2022 / 0173796.

[0004] In a typical implementation, the route is gradually created via signals sent from terrestrial nodes and received by one or more aerial nodes (unmanned aerial vehicles, balloons, or satellites), which in turn send signals that are received by other aerial nodes or terrestrial nodes. For example, a first aerial node that receives a signal from a terrestrial sending node transmits a routing signal, which may be received by other aerial nodes or other terrestrial nodes. Then, the terrestrial node or another aerial node that receives the routing signal can transmit data back to the source terrestrial sending node via the aerial node from which the routing signal was received. The route back to the terrestrial sending node can include one or more aerial nodes. A more advanced version of this “reverse routing” technique is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 10,979,136 (“the '136 patent”) and publication text US2022 / 0173796 (“the '796 publication text”). The assignee's protocols can use statistical probability methods to create routes and transmit data via satellites without the need for bulky, expensive thrusters and fuel to keep them in a prescribed position. Instead, they use lightweight, inexpensive satellites whose positions do not need to be controlled, and these satellites can be deployed in a random distribution or allowed to assume a random distribution.

[0005] The present disclosure relates to the structure of various lighter-than-air and heavier-than-air lift-assisted non-orbital nodes (unmanned aerial vehicles and balloons), which are particularly useful in systems with or without satellites. That is, the disclosed structures can be used in communication systems that use any type of non-orbital flying vehicle as a system node in a wireless circuit. The disclosed unmanned aerial vehicles can be used in local systems involving only unmanned aerial vehicles or in wider area systems that combine unmanned aerial vehicles with satellites, as described below with reference to Figures 12 to 14 In civilian applications, unmanned aerial vehicles are typically deployed at altitudes of at least 10 miles to avoid interfering with commercial aviation. Although lighter-than-air vehicles can themselves occupy higher altitudes, in a preferred embodiment, they will be deployed at altitudes closer to the 10-mile lower limit to increase the signal strength of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the ground. It should also be understood that in other cases, some applications will use unmanned aerial vehicles in non-restricted airspace (e.g., near airports) below the 400-foot upper limit permitted by FAA regulations. These unmanned aerial vehicles can be used in urban areas or mountainous regions because ground-based nodes may not be able to see any (or only a limited number of) high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles or satellites. They can also provide more reliable communication with terrestrial nodes at buildings or other locations because the radio link strength of high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles may be affected.

[0006] The non-orbital nodes of the present disclosure will also be useful in certain applications where the 400-foot upper limit restriction has been suspended due to government emergency intervention, such as in the case of or after communication in a specific area has been damaged or interrupted due to severe weather, earthquakes, or other natural disasters. Airlines can be instructed to suspend operations in the disaster area to clear the area and instead use non-orbital low-altitude nodes. In such cases, in the absence of the low-upper-limit node restriction, the unmanned aerial vehicles described in the present disclosure can provide instant communication with people on the ground, making them an ideal choice for maintaining communication between the command post and individual emergency workers and law enforcement officers. Unmanned aerial vehicles at altitudes of 1,000 feet to 2,000 feet will be able to transmit and receive signals of sufficient strength from the ground to ensure the integrity of data transmission using the unmanned aerial vehicle. Although unmanned aerial vehicles at such altitudes may be vulnerable to severe weather or other hazards, the unmanned aerial vehicles themselves are inexpensive and easy to replace, and can automatically start participating in route creation and data transmission after deployment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] In conjunction with the accompanying drawings, a better understanding of how such unmanned aerial vehicles and communication systems can achieve certain objectives of the claimed subject matter can be obtained from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, in which like numerals and letters always denote like features. The following is a brief identification of the drawings used in the accompanying detailed description.

[0008] Figure 1 is a schematic side view of a first preferred embodiment of a non-orbital aerial node, which includes an integrated lighter-than-air rigid airship ("LTA") unmanned aerial vehicle, used as a reference Figures 12 to 14 Type A node in the described system.

[0009] Figure 2 is a top view of the LTA unmanned aerial vehicle depicted in Figure 1.

[0010] Figure 3 is a conceptual cross-section of the LTA unmanned aerial vehicle depicted in Figures 1 and 2, showing the arrangement of certain internal components of the Type A unmanned aerial vehicle in the described system. Figures 12 to 14 Description of the system.

[0011] Figure 4 Is a schematic diagram of the various internal operating components and structural components of the LTA unmanned aerial vehicle depicted in Figures 1 to 3.

[0012] Figure 5 Is a conceptual cross-section of the LTA unmanned aerial vehicle depicted in Figures 1 to 3, showing the technology for stabilizing the pitch of the LTA unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0013] Figure 6 Is Figure 5 View of the LTA unmanned aerial vehicle shown in

[0014] Figure 7 Depicts an electromagnetic array for controlling the heading of the LTA unmanned aerial vehicle in the foregoing figures.

[0015] Figure 8 is a schematic side view of a second preferred embodiment of a lighter-than-air unmanned aerial vehicle used as a Type A node in the described system, where certain operating components of the first preferred embodiment depicted in Figures 1 to Figures 12 to 14 Are housed in a communication pod suspended from the lighter-than-air rigid airship. Figure 7 Depicted in the first preferred embodiment are placed in a communication pod suspended from the lighter-than-air rigid airship.

[0016] Figure 9 is a top view of the communication pod shown in Figure 8.

[0017] Figure 10 is a front view of the communication pod shown in Figure 8.

[0018] Figure 11 Is a schematic side view of a third preferred embodiment of a heavier-than-air unmanned aerial vehicle used as a Type A node in the described system, where the communication pod in Figures 8 to 10 is suspended from a rotorcraft and assisted by lift provided by lighter-than-air gas. Figures 12 to 14 Description of the system.

[0019] Figure 12 Is a Mercator projection of the Earth, showing the orbital paths of a constellation of randomly distributed satellites deployed at different altitudes and with different inclinations relative to the equator, for use inFigure 14 The four - level communication system shown

[0020] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram showing a local routing network that includes radio links created for transmitting data to terrestrial nodes in a system that includes multiple non - orbital aerial nodes (such as the nodes depicted in FIGS. 1 to Figure 11 the nodes depicted therein).

[0021] Figure 14 depicts an exemplary radio circuit path in a four - level communication system, which includes non - orbital aerial nodes (such as the nodes shown in FIGS. 1 to Figure 11 the nodes shown therein), and orbital nodes in a constellation of satellites (such as Figure 12 the nodes shown therein).

[0022] Those skilled in the art will readily understand that the drawings are not drawn to scale exactly. However, when combined with the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, it will be found that they are sufficient to make and use the present invention. Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments

[0023] The following detailed description is intended to provide specific examples of particular embodiments that illustrate various ways of implementing the claimed subject matter. It is written with the knowledge level of an ordinary person skilled in the art to which the claimed subject matter pertains in mind. Therefore, certain details may be omitted because they are unnecessary for enabling such a person to implement the described embodiments.

[0024] The following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments of the subject matter is organized as follows:[[]]END]]

[0025] I. Definitions

[0026] II. Non - orbital Aerial Node (Drone) Embodiments

[0027] A. One - piece lighter - than - air drone

[0028] B. Two - part lighter - than - air drone

[0029] C. Two - part heavier - than - air rotor drone with lift assistance

[0030] III. Route Creation in Systems with Orbital Aerial Nodes / Non - orbital Aerial Nodes

[0031] A. General Description of Exemplary Satellite Deployments

[0032] B. Local Routing and Wide - Area Routing Systems and Methods

[0033] 1. Using Drones for Local Data Transmission

[0034] 2. Wide - area data transmission using drones and satellites

[0035] 3. Examples of local and wide - area routes

[0036] IV. Operational applications of disclosed non - orbital aerial nodes

[0037] V. Summary and conclusions

[0038] I. Definitions

[0039] The detailed description in the next section uses many terms that are intended to have specific meanings. For satellite deployments, specific terms relate to options of the systems and methods disclosed below, which use only satellites, or in combination with non - orbital aerial nodes (such as the LTA and lift - assisted drones depicted in the figures). Satellites can be deployed in known fixed orbits, or in certain advantageous embodiments where route creation is based on the statistical likelihood of creating node - to - node links, the satellites are "randomly distributed" or in "unconstrained orbits". Both of these terms are related to the term "arbitrary orbit" used in the patent and patent publication texts of the previously cited assignee. The intended meaning of these terms is that once a satellite is deployed in an orbit, any orbital path can be adopted without applying power to the satellite through an on - board propulsion system. However, neither of these terms is intended to exclude the initial deployment of a satellite at a particular orbital inclination, altitude, or attitude, or in a particular geographical location relative to other satellites in the system. In other words, an "unconstrained" orbit, a "randomly distributed" orbit, or an "arbitrary" orbit means that the satellites are deployed such that after entering the orbit, their positions relative to other satellites and relative to the Earth are uncontrolled at any given time, although their initial deployment may be designed to cover a particular swath of the Earth's surface. The satellites do not have to be deployed arbitrarily in a mathematical sense, but using mathematical methods to determine satellite deployment direction, inclination, altitude, speed, etc. is within the scope of these terms, taking into account the geographical area of the Earth to be served by the radio circuit routes using one or more satellites. Additionally, any of the deployment techniques described above or other deployment techniques can be combined to launch a single satellite in different orbital directions (east or west around the Earth). For example, a satellite can be launched from a launch vehicle traveling along an orbital direction (i.e., generally east or west) at different speeds in different directions, such that over time, they will separate themselves into "arbitrary" orbits in a substantially unconstrained manner. This will cause an observer on Earth to see a constellation of multiple satellites randomly distributed in random orbits.

[0040] The terms "passive attitude control" and the related term "without active attitude control" as applied to satellites in the systems described herein mean that the satellite does not carry an attitude control mechanism having components that are moved to different positions by on-board devices and that require power to intentionally change the attitude of the satellite relative to an external reference frame. Examples of active attitude control mechanisms can be: a propulsion system having thrusters that can apply torques to the satellite to rotate it; or a mechanical actuator having moving parts for changing the center of gravity or angular momentum of the satellite, or the position and / or orientation of the satellite's solar panels. These terms do not exclude the use of passive devices to change or control the attitude of the satellite without using moving parts, whereby the satellite can tend to assume a particular attitude over time solely by virtue of its structure and the materials used in its manufacture. In addition, these terms do not exclude the use of various methods, such as using electrical devices to stabilize the attitude of the satellite within certain limits. This can include techniques such as selectively switching an array of one or more electromagnets to vary the interaction of the electromagnets with the Earth's magnetic field to affect the attitude of the satellite. Similar techniques known currently or developed in the future are also covered by the terms "passive attitude control" and "without active attitude control".

[0041] A "node" or "system node" is a physical object having one or more transceivers for transmitting radio signals intended to be received by other nodes and for receiving radio signals transmitted from other nodes. A node can be a terrestrial ground station (examples of which will be described in the next paragraph), or a transceiver above the Earth's surface ("air node"). Air nodes include, but are not limited to, satellites orbiting the Earth, and non-orbital unmanned aerial vehicles, which can be heavier-than-air fixed-wing aircraft or rotary-wing aircraft, as well as lighter-than-air rigid airships (with or without propulsion and steering systems). Non-orbital air nodes also include balloons. In this context, "rigid" means having an outer shell or hull with a substantially fixed shape and only capable of limited deformation. Similar to satellites, non-orbital air nodes do not need to be maintained in a precise predetermined position to support route creation. However, since they are affected by atmospheric conditions, they may include propulsion and guidance systems sufficient to limit their range of motion. The present disclosure is mainly concerned with routes between air nodes of the same type at the same altitude, or between air nodes of the same type or different types at multiple altitudes.

[0042] "Ground node" or "land node" can refer to a fixed-position ground station such as a land cellular telephone switch, or a mobile node that can be moved from one place to another under power while transmitting and receiving radio signals. The terms "mobile ground node" or "mobile land node" can also refer to an aircraft in flight that is a source node from which a passenger wishes to transmit data to a destination ground node, including another aircraft in flight or a destination ground node actually located on the Earth's surface; or it can be a destination ground node on the Earth's surface from which a system user wishes to transmit data to an aircraft in flight or another system ground node on the Earth's surface. An elevated ground node will enable more users to connect to a communication system in a low-population-density area. The terms "mobile ground node" or "mobile land node" can also mean a mobile ground vehicle (e.g., a car) from which a passenger wishes to transmit data to a destination ground node, including an aircraft in flight or a destination node actually located on the Earth's surface; or it can be a source node on the Earth's surface from which a system user wishes to transmit data to an aircraft in flight or another system node on the Earth's surface. Examples of other types of mobile ground nodes include, but are not limited to, portable devices (e.g., smartphones and tablet computers), trucks and buses, and marine vessels (e.g., cruise ships, fishing boats (of all sizes), and yachts). Thus, it should be understood that terms such as "mobile ground node" and "mobile land node" used in this disclosure should be broadly interpreted to include any node that forms the end point of a route for transmitting data ("source node") or receiving data ("destination node"), whether physically on the Earth's surface, in the air above the ground, or on a body of water.

[0043] The terms "routing message" and "data communication" (or "data transmission") are also used in the following description. A "routing message" is a radio signal sent from a system node (terrestrial or airborne) that contains information or has attributes that can be used to determine whether the node is suitable for inclusion in a multi-link radio circuit route. Unless otherwise explicitly stated or the context otherwise indicates, "data communication" includes the content (digital or otherwise) sent via a radio link between two orbiting satellites, between two non-orbiting airborne nodes, or between a satellite or other non-orbiting airborne node and a terrestrial node. Although not limited thereto, the systems and methods described herein are particularly suitable for transmitting data in the form of data packets, which are defined herein in the generally accepted sense as a collection of digital data, where a portion represents the content being transmitted (sometimes referred to as the "payload"), and a control portion (sometimes referred to as the "header" or "trailer") that contains information enabling the successful delivery of the payload, such as source address, destination address, error detection code, sequencing information, and encryption information. A given radio signal can include both a routing message and a data communication. Throughout the description herein, the term "radio" is not limited to electromagnetic radiation at frequencies commonly referred to as radio waves. It is intended to cover electromagnetic radiation at any frequency capable of transmitting information, including light, microwaves, VHF ("very high frequency"), UHF ("ultra high frequency"), etc.

[0044] As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, in the description herein, the control circuits and components described and depicted in the various figures are intended to be examples of any electronic computer system capable of performing the functions attributed to them. Such a computer system will typically include the necessary input / output interface devices, as well as a central processing unit (CPU) with a suitable operating system, application software for executing program instructions, and transient and non-transient memory modules. Additionally, the terms used herein to refer to system elements are for convenience of reference. For example, the terms "component", "module", "system", "device", "interface", etc. generally intend to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software (firmware), software, or software in execution, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Further, the term "module" or "component" by itself does not imply a self-contained structure, but can include various hardware and firmware combined together to perform a particular function. In this regard, a component or module can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, an execution thread, a program, and / or a computer. By way of illustration, an application running on an electronic computing device and the device itself can be components. One or more components can reside within a process and / or execution thread, and a component can be localized on one computer and / or distributed between two or more computers.

[0045] II. Non-Orbiting Aerial Node (Drone) Embodiments

[0046] As previously mentioned, communication systems employing the assignee's methods and protocols can be used with various types of non-orbiting aerial nodes. A variety of heavier-than-air drone configurations have been proposed, such as the Sunglider developed by AeroVironment, Inc. TM High Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS), described at www.avinc.com / about / haps. These so-called "pseudo-satellites" are fixed-wing aircraft with a 255-foot wingspan (compared to a Boeing 747's 211-foot wingspan) that carry solar panels and 10 propellers. Their construction and launch costs would be high, especially in quantities sufficient to support a large amount of communication. If used in hostile environments such as a combat zone, their size would make them particularly vulnerable to attack, where they are used to support direct communication with combat forces to replace destroyed local infrastructure. In an environment where the Sunglider TM drones have a high "mortality" rate, replacing a large number of Sunglider TM drones would be a huge cost penalty.

[0047] The drones described herein avoid these drawbacks. They are inexpensive to construct and launch. They can be deployed in swarms at low altitudes, which makes it more likely that they will establish communication with the ground. This is crucial in situations where local infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged, such as in a war zone or natural disaster. They support the assignee's unique routing protocol, do not require the drones to be in fixed positions, and enable them to integrate themselves into the communication system almost immediately after deployment.

[0048] A. Monolithic Lighter-Than-Air Drones

[0049] Figures 1 through 3 depict a preferred LTA drone implementation that includes a rigid airship designed to operate as an A-type node in systems such as those described additionally below and in Publication No. '796. For purposes of description, a right-handed coordinate system is superimposed on the drone 10, with the positive x-axis (+x) along the centerline of the drone generally defining the forward heading, the positive y-axis (+y) pointing vertically upward along the nominal orientation of the drone, and the positive z-axis (+z) pointing to the left (as viewed from the -x direction). In this case, the drone 10 includes a regular elliptical shell 100 that is symmetric about all three axes, having a substantially circular cross-section in the y-z plane centered on the x-axis (Figure 3) and elliptical cross-sections in the x-y plane and x-z plane (Figures 1 and 2) - geometrically, a prolate ellipsoid. (In this and similar contexts, "substantially circular" means that the shape can deviate from an exact circle if it can still enable the drone to perform its intended function.) In the following description, unless the context otherwise indicates, the coordinate system is attached to the drone, and the "orientation" of the drone refers to the relationship of the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis relative to the Earth's surface. (For purposes of illustration and description only, the origin of the coordinate system is depicted in the centroid of the ellipsoidal shell 100 of the drone 10 in the figures.) Figures 1 through 3 depict the nominal orientation of the drone during deployment to the communication system described in reference to Figures 12 to 14 , and in Publication No. '796 Figure 12 , where the +y axis of the drone points upward along the normal to the Earth's surface, the x-y plane is parallel to the Earth's surface, and the heading is in the +x direction. In this context, the "top surface", "side surface", and "bottom surface" are so named; "right" and "left" are as viewed from the -x direction.

[0050] The LTA drone 10 includes three separately operable directional antenna arrays. In the present embodiment, the top antenna array 102 includes a plurality of antennas distributed in the area between the triple-dashed lines in FIGS. 1 and 2; the side antenna array 104 includes a plurality of antennas distributed in the area between the double-dashed lines in FIGS. 1 and 2 (this area extends to the right hand side of the drone in the same manner); and the bottom antenna array 106 includes a plurality of antennas distributed in the area marked by the dashed line in FIG. 1 (this area also extends to the right hand side of the drone in the same manner, as shown in FIG. 3). In a preferred embodiment, the antenna has a parabolic reflector having a circular aperture and a central feed, and the parabolic reflector is mounted on the drone with its aperture close to the inner surface of the drone 10. In additional embodiments, the parabolic antenna may have multiple feeds to increase the number of beams generated by each feed, as described in the assignee's U.S. Patent No. 10,085,200, thereby increasing the chance of pairing antennas between different drones. The antennas are depicted as circles in FIGS. 1 and 2, but depending on the way they are mounted in place, they may or may not actually be visible from the outside of the drone.

[0051] The top antenna array 102 is designed to establish radio links with satellites in layers B, C, and D in the system depicted in Figure 14 In the present embodiment, it includes a total of 12 antennas: four central antennas 102a, 102b, 102c, and 102d are equally spaced apart, and the centers of their apertures are located on the line where the x-y plane intersects the surface of the drone; another four top antennas include left-offset lateral antennas 102e, 102f, 102g, and 102h, which are equally spaced apart, and the centers of their apertures are centered on a line that is offset a predetermined distance to the left of the line of the central antennas; and four antennas include right-offset lateral antennas 102i, 102j, 102k, and 102l, which are equally spaced apart, and the centers of their apertures are centered on a line that is offset a predetermined distance to the right of the line of the central antennas. The center-to-center distance between the antennas in each row of offset lateral antennas is the same as that of the central antennas, and each offset lateral antenna is positioned at half the distance between adjacent central antennas.

[0052] The circumferential arrangement of the top array antennas in the y-z plane is conceptually shown in FIG. 3, where the central antennas 102a, 102b, 102c, and 102d are represented as a single conceptual antenna 102C, the left-offset antennas 102e, 102f, 102g, and 102h are represented as a single conceptual antenna 102L, and the right-offset antennas 102i, 102j, 102k, and 102l are represented as a single conceptual antenna 102R. In the present embodiment, the center of the left-offset antenna 102L is spaced apart from the center of the line of the central antenna 102C by a circumferential distance d TL, the line spacing between the right-offset antenna 102R and the central antenna 102C is separated by a circumferential distance d TR . The LTA drone 10 will have an on-board rechargeable battery (see Figure 4 and Figure 5 ), and multiple solar cell arrays SP for converting light from the sun into electric current to charge the battery. In this embodiment, the solar cell arrays are arranged in the spaces between the antennas in the top antenna array, as shown in Figure 2.

[0053] Referring to Figure 3, as the diameter of the drone decreases, the angle α between the y-axis and the center of the antenna 102L TL will increase along the x-axis (in both directions from the origin at x = 0); the same is true for the angle α between the y-axis and the center of the antenna 102R. TR For example, the angles α TL and α TR associated with the antennas 102e and 102i (and the antennas 102h and 102l) Figure 14 .) The angles α TL and α TR are generally equal, and the angles α TL and α TR are selected to place the antennas in the top array, generally pointing upward away from the earth's surface, to send and receive radio signals to and from satellites. The preferred range of α TL and α TR is 0° to 10° when x = 0. In this embodiment, d TL and d TR are constant along the length of the housing, but in some cases, it may be preferred to keep the values of α TL and α TR constant along the length of the housing or change them according to operating requirements. Conversely, the top array antennas near the center of the drone (such as the antennas 102f, 102g, 102j, and 102g) have less chance of forming a radio link with the satellite at this shallower angle. Therefore, in an alternative configuration, in addition to the other antennas depicted in Figures 1 and 2, the top antenna array may also include one or more auxiliary antennas 102AX on each side of the drone. The optional nature of these antennas is indicated by the two-dot lines in Figures 1 to 3.

[0054] The side antenna arrays 104 depicted in Figures 1 to 3 are designed to be in line withFigure 14 Other drones in layer A establish radio links. It includes a total of 12 antennas in two rows, six antennas in each row. The first row of side antennas includes six horizontally directed antennas 104a, 104b, 104c, 104d, 104e, and 104f, and their mouths are centered at equal intervals around the "equator" of the elliptical drone (i.e., the line along the circumference of the drone in the x-z plane). The second row of side antennas includes six downward antennas, three of which are located on both sides of the drone. The downward antennas on the left side of the drone are denoted by reference numerals 104g, 104h, and 104j. Each antenna is positioned such that its mouth is centered on a line that is offset downward from the line of the horizontally directed antennas, and the center-to-center distance between them is the same as the distance between antennas 104a, 104b, and 104c. Each downward antenna is positioned at half the distance between antennas 104a, 104b, and 104c. The downward antennas on the right side of the drone (not shown) are positioned in the same manner relative to the horizontally directed antennas 104d, 140e, and 104f on that side.

[0055] Figure 3 depicts the arrangement of the antennas in the side array 104, where the horizontally directed antennas are represented as two conceptual antennas 104L, and the downward antennas are represented as two conceptual antennas 104D on both sides of the drone 10. The antennas 104L point substantially parallel to the Earth's surface along the length of the drone. The center of the downward antenna 104D is spaced a circumferential distance d from the center of the line of the horizontally directed antennas 104L S . Thus, as the diameter of the drone decreases, the angle α between the z-axis and the center of the antenna 104D S will increase along the x-axis (in both directions starting from the origin) (that is, the angle α S associated with antennas 104a and 104g (and antennas 104c and 104i) will be greater than the corresponding angle associated with antennas 104b and 104h). The angle α S is preferably selected to be 5° to 10° when x = 0, so that the horizontally directed antennas and the downward antennas form a side antenna array with a horizontal direction substantially parallel to the Earth's surface. In this embodiment, d S is constant along the length of the housing, but in some cases, it may be preferred to keep the value of α S constant along the length of the housing or change it according to the operating requirements. In a system where all drones are at substantially the same height, the side array antennas will provide sufficient antenna beam coverage to establish radio links between a particular drone and nearby drones via the horizontally directed antennas, and to establish radio links between drones closer to the horizon via the downward antennas.

[0056] Still referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the antennas in the bottom antenna array 106 are designed to be in line with Figure 14The land node "T" shown in relation to specific local regions (e.g., Hawaii, San Francisco, New York, and London (used as examples in Figure 14 )) establishes a radio link. There are a total of 12 antennas in the bottom array, which are arranged in substantially the same manner as the antennas in the top array 102. Specifically, the bottom array includes a total of 12 antennas: four central antennas 106a, 106b, 106c, and 106d are equally spaced apart, and the centers of their apertures are located on the line where the x - y plane intersects the surface of the drone; another four bottom antennas include left - offset lateral antennas 106e, 106f, 106g, and 106h that are equally spaced apart, and the centers of their apertures are centered on a line that is offset a predetermined distance to the left of the line of the central antennas; and four antennas include right - offset lateral antennas (not visible in the figure) that are equally spaced apart, and the centers of their apertures are centered on a line that is offset a predetermined distance to the right of the line of the central antennas (like the top antennas 102i, 102j, 102k, and 102l). The center - to - center distance between the antennas in each row of offset lateral antennas is the same as that of the central antennas, and each offset lateral antenna is positioned at half the distance between adjacent central antennas. The circumferential arrangement of the bottom - array antennas in the y - z plane is conceptually shown in Figure 3, where the central antennas 106a, 106b, 106c, and 106d are represented as a conceptual antenna 106C, the left - offset antennas 106e, 106f, 106g, and 106h are represented as a single conceptual antenna 106L, and the right - offset antennas are represented as a single conceptual antenna 106R. In this embodiment, the center of the left - offset antenna 106L is spaced a circumferential distance d BL from the center of the line of the central antennas 106C, while the right - offset antenna 106R is spaced a circumferential distance d BR from the line of the central antennas 106C.

[0057] As the diameter of the drone decreases, in the same manner as described in connection with the top antenna array 102, the angle α BL between the y - axis and the center of the antenna 106L will increase (in both directions along the x - axis starting from the origin), and the angle α BR between the y - axis and the center of the antenna 106R will also increase. Thus, the bottom - array antennas at the ends of the drone 10 will point further to the side (i.e., they will be closer to the x - z plane) compared to the bottom - array antennas closer to the y - axis. The angles α BL and α BR are generally equal, and the angles α BL and α BR are selected such that the antennas in the bottom array generally point towards the surface of the Earth to transmit radio signals to and receive radio signals from the land nodes, and α BL and α BRThe preferred range is from 0° to 10° when x = 0. In the present embodiment, d BL and d BR are constant along the length of the housing, but in some cases, it may be preferred to keep α BL and α BR constant along the length of the housing or change them according to the operating requirements. This will provide a large enough ground coverage area to be able to establish radio links with multiple terrestrial nodes. Although an auxiliary antenna (such as 102AX) can be provided at the bottom of the LTA drone 10 to supplement the top antenna array, the proximity of the drone to the ground (compared to the distance from the satellite node) should make it unnecessary to increase the surface coverage area of the antenna array at the bottom of the drone.

[0058] Figure 4 The internal components of the LTA drone 10 are depicted in a highly schematic manner, including the internal circuitry that performs route creation and data transmission functions (described later in Section III). For clarity, Figure 4 only the top antenna array 102, the side antenna array 104, the bottom antenna array 106, and the solar panel SP are schematically shown. Figure 4 The electronic control and communication module shown in includes a central processing unit 210, which includes an operating system module 212, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) module 214, and a motor / steering / attitude (MSA) control module 216. The operating system module 212 provides overall control of Figure 4 the other system components depicted in, as described in the subsequent paragraphs below. The GNSS module 214 enables the drone 10 to determine its position relative to the Earth's surface in the manner employed by known global navigation satellite systems. Examples of known global navigation satellite systems are the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system of the United States, the Galileo system of the European Union, the GLONASS system of Russia, and the Beidou system of China. The GNSS module will also serve as the system clock for the routing and data transmission operation phases discussed further below. The central processing unit 210 also controls the route creation / data transmission circuit 310. In an important aspect of the LTA drone 10, the circuit 310 controls the separately operable top antenna route creation / data transmission circuit 312, the side antenna route creation / data transmission circuit 314, and the bottom antenna route creation / data transmission circuit 316, where each circuit is dedicated only to controlling route creation and data transmission via its respective associated antenna array, as described in the following paragraphs. The rechargeable battery 410 provides operating power for the drone. The MSA module 216 controls the aforementioned airborne mechanical components, which will be described in detail below.

[0059] Although Figure 4depicts that the electronic control and communication modules occupy a large amount of the internal volume of the drone 10, but in fact they occupy a very small space. Most of the internal volume will be occupied by one or more inflatable bladders GB (conceptually depicted by long dashed lines in Figure 3), which are filled with helium or other lighter-than-air gases to keep the drone at a predetermined altitude. The bladder provides sufficient buoyancy to lift the drone to its operating altitude, at which point the bladder deflates to release a sufficient amount of the helium lift gas so that the lift force L on the drone equals its weight W. (See Figure 3.) The entire drone, including the drone housing itself, Figure 4 the hardware and electronic components shown in L and the bladder, will be constructed such that at the desired altitude, the coordinates x L 、y L 、z G of the lift center CL and the coordinates x G 、y G 、z L of the center of gravity CG are positioned relative to each other such that x G =x L =z G ,(in this embodiment, x L =x G =0 and z L =z G =0). In the y direction, the lift center CL is located at +y L and the center of gravity is located at -y G . In the absence of external forces on the drone, this will cause it to hover at a constant altitude with the x-z plane parallel to the Earth's surface, the y-axis perpendicular to the Earth's surface, and the bottom antenna pointing downward.

[0060] However, in practice, most applications will advantageously include a method for keeping the drone horizontal (the x-z plane parallel to the Earth's surface) at the operating altitude and the +x direction pointing in a specific heading. This embodiment incorporates a variety of mechanisms for controlling the drone's attitude (i.e., pitch, roll, and yaw), as well as keeping it in the desired position or, in some applications, guiding it along a predetermined flight path. In this description, "pitch" refers to the angular orientation relative to the z-axis, "roll" refers to the angular orientation relative to the x-axis, and "yaw" refers to the angular orientation relative to the y-axis. "Zero pitch" refers to the attitude where the x-axis is parallel to the ground; "zero roll" refers to the attitude where the z-axis is parallel to the ground; and "zero yaw" refers to the attitude where the x-axis points in the desired heading direction. As previously mentioned, the typical design condition is zero pitch, zero roll, and zero yaw, within certain limits, to enable its antenna to establish a radio link with other nodes in the specific communication system in which the drone is deployed.

[0061] An important feature of the LTA drone 10 lies in various mechanical and electromagnetic components 510, which together with the GNSS module 214 and the MSA module 216 constitute a guidance and propulsion system for controlling the position and orientation of the drone to keep the drone in a nominal orientation, where the pitch, roll, and yaw are all zero, and the drone hovers at a desired fixed position or follows a desired flight path. The route creation and data transmission methods, which will be described in Section III later, largely depend on keeping the antenna arrays in their correct orientation relative to the ground so that they can correctly form the expected radio links with other system nodes in each layer. It is also important to control the position and heading of the LTA drone to serve the terrestrial nodes in any specific local area. Figure 4 These components are collectively referred to as the electromagnetic array 512 for heading / yaw control, servo motors, and transmission devices 514 (connected to the top fin 518T and the bottom fin 518B via the top drive shaft 516T and the bottom drive shaft 516B respectively), and the propeller 520 driven by the servo motor via the shaft 522. The servo motor applies torque to the drive shaft 516 to rotate the fins to the desired angle of attack relative to the y-axis between +β and -β under the control of the MSA module 216 (see Figure 2). The transmission device enables the fins to rotate independently throughout the range of motion. The MSA module 216 also controls the rotational speed of the propeller 520.

[0062] The first aspect of maintaining / controlling the attitude of the LTA drone 10 is to construct the LTA drone 10 and all its components such that it has a predetermined weight distribution, which tends to keep it in a level flight state (pitch angle = 0°). The pitch angle θ is shown in Figure 5 , which is a side view representing the weight distribution of the drone, and this distribution biases the drone towards the attitude of θ = 0°. Figure 5 The figure shows that if the drone pitches in either direction, the resulting misalignment of the lift force L and the weight W will generate a moment about the center of gravity, tending to return it to the level flight state (θ = 0°). The drone is constructed to maximize the distance along the y-axis between the center of lift CL and the center of gravity CG to maximize the stabilizing moment generated when the drone pitches. In addition, in this embodiment, the weight of the drone is also distributed to generate a moment of inertia that resists the forces that cause its front end 100F to pitch up (+θ°) or down (-θ°). To this end, within the possible range, the heavier components of the drone are positioned such that the total weight W of the drone includes the front auxiliary center of gravity CG F and the rear auxiliary center of gravity CG A , both of which are located in the x-y plane, just like the total center of gravity CG and the center of lift CL. Since many drone components (such as antennas, solar panels, and bladder parts) must be located in the drone according to their functions, the remaining part of the weight W is mainly attributed to the rechargeable battery 410.Figure 5 reflects the expectation that in most implementations, for the front assist weight w F and the rear assist weight w A the main contributions will be the device 412F and the device 412A, which mainly consist of the rechargeable battery of the UAV. Other components can be positioned to contribute to the assist weights w F and w A but there may be limitations on where they can be located to provide the desired values. Therefore, it may be necessary to add ballast to achieve the desired effect. For example, in a preferred implementation, the UAV is configured such that w F and w A are equal, and their associated assist centers of gravity CG F and CG A are positioned at equal distances x in the x direction from the center of gravity CG of the UAVx Aux . Even so, even if θ is not maintained at 0°, effective route creation and data transmission can be achieved, preferably in the range +10° ≥ θ ≥ -10°, more preferably in the range +6° ≥ θ ≥ -6°, but wider ranges are still operable.

[0063] The next aspect of maintaining / controlling the attitude of the LTA UAV 10 is to maintain its roll angle as shown in FIG. 3. Similar to the pitch angle θ, the alignment of the lift force L and the weight W in the y direction inherently biases the attitude of the UAV as shown in FIG. 3, and the resulting misalignment of the lift force L and the weight W creates a moment about the center of gravity, tending to return it to In addition, by incorporating an inclinometer (not shown) in the MSA module 216, more positive control of the roll angle can be achieved. When the inclinometer detects a non-zero value of , the software in the operating system module 212 and the MSA module 216 cooperate to create a feedback loop that causes the servo motor / transmission 514 to rotate the flaps 518T and 518B in opposite directions by an appropriate angle +β and -β to maintain Commercially available electronic inclinometers suitable for this purpose are available, an example being microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), such as the ADIS16201 programmable biaxial inclinometer / accelerometer available from Analog Devices, Inc., One Analog Way, Wilmington, MA 01887.

[0064] This method of controlling roll will be effective in the following situation: the LTA drone 10 is held in the desired position by the propulsive force PF generated by the propellers 520, and the +x axis of the drone points in the direction of the prevailing wind PW, thereby generating an air current above the fins 518T and 518B. (The position and heading control will be discussed next.) It is expected that the drone will be affected by the prevailing wind in most cases, so this is an effective method of controlling roll in all cases except under abnormal atmospheric conditions. Even if the prevailing wind is mild, the inherent tendency of the drone is to assume a position, which will help to keep it in the desired orientation relative to roll. If the GNSS module 214 does not detect the movement of the drone, the same tendency should be sufficient to control the amount of roll, especially in the absence of any disturbing tendency. In addition, even if is not maintained at 0°, effective route creation and data transmission can be achieved, and the preferred range is The more preferred range is However, a wider range is still operable.

[0065] The last aspect of maintaining / controlling the attitude and orientation of the LTA drone 10 will be described with reference to Figure 6 and Figure 7 where Figure 6 is a view taken along the Figure 5 direction shown, Figure 7 is Figure 4 a detailed view of the electromagnetic array 512 marked as "attitude / steering magnet" in Figure 7 is a detailed view of the electromagnetic array 512, which includes a passive attitude control mechanism for interacting with the Earth's magnetic field to control the drone's heading.

[0066] As Figure 7 seen, the electromagnetic array 512 is viewed along the -y direction. The array includes four orthogonal electromagnets 512a, 512b, 512c, and 512d, and their north poles "N" and south poles "S" are oriented as shown at startup. The Earth's magnetic field is represented by the magnetic flux lines MF. In Figure 7In it, the LTA drone 10 is depicted, with its magnets 512a and 512c aligned with the Earth's magnetic field as their north and south poles are attracted to the Earth's magnetic north and south poles respectively. (The Earth's north magnetic pole is actually a magnetic south pole, and for the Earth's south magnetic pole it is actually a magnetic north pole.) The heading of the drone - i.e., the direction of the +x axis - is due east in this orientation. The drone can be brought to any desired heading by a suitable algorithm residing in the operating system module software 212 in conjunction with an electronic compass (not shown) to create a feedback loop that activates the electromagnets 512a, 512b, 512c, and 512d in a predetermined manner, thereby generating a rotational force about the y axis that tends to change / maintain the drone's heading.

[0067] As mentioned above, when used in the communication system described below Figures 12 to 14 the LTA drone 10 generally remains in a fixed position relative to the Earth. Although the preferred deployment altitude is about 10 miles, which places it above the jet stream's usually maximum 9 - mile altitude, the drone may be affected by some air currents as previously mentioned. The GNSS module 214 will periodically read the drone's position, and the operating system module 212 will process the read drone position to calculate any nascent drift in the drone's position. A suitable algorithm residing in the operating system module will provide appropriate signals based on the direction the drone has moved from its desired position and the current heading provided by the on - board electronic compass. The operating system module provides appropriate signals to the electromagnets 512a, 512b, 512c, and 512d such that the drone flies in the correct direction to rotate the shaft 522 via activation of the servo motor 514 and cause the propellers 520 to generate a propulsive force PF, thereby keeping / returning the drone to its desired position. The angle of attack β of the flaps 518T and 518B will also help keep the +x axis of the drone facing the prevailing wind PW with a yaw angle ψ = 0°.

[0068] In operation, the operating system module 212 receives readings from the GNSS module at appropriate intervals based on the angular heading of the x axis at that time and controls the angle of attack of the propellers, electromagnets, and flaps via a feedback loop of a conventional type to keep the drone pointed in a direction where the +x axis points in and is aligned with the prevailing wind direction. It is not necessary for the drone to return to the desired position in a straight line. For example, in a preferred implementation, it may "tack" back to the desired position based on the distance it has moved. In the current embodiment, when the GNSS module indicates that the drone has not moved from its desired position, it is assumed that the drone is facing the prevailing wind. The oblate - ellipsoid shape reduces drag and the power required to maintain the drone in the desired position. In an alternative configuration, the drone can include a wind direction sensor to directly indicate the prevailing wind direction to assist in keeping the drone in the desired position.

[0069] In additional implementations, the LTA drones follow a predetermined flight path that is designed to increase the number of antenna pairings between them. For example, a circular flight path with a diameter of approximately 1 to 2 miles will change the angles of the drones relative to each other and continuously cause their antennas to point at each other at slightly different angles. (Due to atmospheric conditions, the flight path may be slightly different from a true circle.) The operating system module 212 will guide the drones via serial inputs from the GNSS module 214 indicating the drone positions and flight path, as well as from the MEMS tilt sensors, and heading information from the electronic compass to control the drone flight path. The MSA control module 216 will control the flaps 518T and 518B and the propellers 520 via the servo motors / transmissions 514, using selective actuation of the magnets in the electromagnetic array 512 when appropriate. This implementation can also use different flight paths to achieve the same purpose.

[0070] B. Two-Part Lighter-Than-Air Drone

[0071] Figures 8 through 10 depict a first alternative implementation that includes a two-part LTA drone 1010 that includes a rigid lighter-than-air upper vehicle 1020 and a communication pod 1030 connected to the vehicle 1020 by a rod-like member 1040. (Features corresponding to those in the implementations in Figures 1 through Figure 7 are similarly denoted with "1000" series reference numerals.) A bearing structure suitable for this purpose mounts the rod-like member 1040 to the upper vehicle and / or the communication pod to allow the communication pod to rotate about the y-axis with an angular velocity ω relative to the Earth's surface. The communication pod 1030 includes a regular elliptical rigid housing 1100 that is symmetric about all three axes, having an elliptical cross-section in the x-y plane and the y-z plane (Figures 8 and 10) and a substantially circular cross-section in the x-z plane (Figure 9) - geometrically an oblate spheroid - to present a constant cross-sectional area to any prevailing wind when rotating. The drone 1010 includes those described above in connection with Figures 1 through Figure 7All components of the lighter-than-air drone 10 described. The upper vehicle 1020 carries the solar panels SP, the central processing unit 210, the rechargeable batteries 410 (including any ballast), the mechanical components 510 and the bladder (not shown), the purpose of the bladder is the same as the bladder GB depicted in Figure 3; the lower communication cabin 1030 houses the communication components, including antennas and route creation / data transmission circuits 310. Figures 8 to 10 schematically show the upper antenna array 1102, the side antenna array 1104 and the bottom antenna array 1106. The rod 1040 includes appropriate means for connecting the electrical / electronic components in the upper vehicle 1020 and the rotating communication cabin 1030. In an alternative embodiment, the CPU tasks can be divided between the power CPU in the upper vehicle 1020 (for managing the batteries, solar panels and MSA control module) and the communication CPU in the communication cabin 1030 (for managing the route creation / data transmission circuit).

[0072] Both the upper vehicle 1020 and the communication cabin 1030 include electromagnetic arrays (not shown), as described above in conjunction with Figure 7 The electromagnetic array in the upper vehicle maintains the drone 1010 in a fixed geographic location or steers it along a desired flight path in the same manner as described in conjunction with the LTA drone 10 and produces the same effects as described in conjunction with the LTA drone 10. In an alternative non-rotating embodiment, the upper vehicle 1020 and the lower cabin 1030 are rigidly attached, and the control system can maintain the drone in a fixed position or cause it to fly along a predetermined flight path, as with the drone 10. In this embodiment, the communications cabin 1030 does not include an electromagnetic array and is preferably a prolate ellipsoid with its major axis aligned with the major axis of the vehicle 1020.

[0073] In the rotating embodiment, the electromagnetic array in the communication cabin rotates at an appropriate rate in order to increase the probability that the transmitted radio beam will be received by another drone because the antenna will "scan" an area as the drone rotates. (See U.S. Patent No. 10,979,136 Figure 11 A to Figure 11 C and its accompanying text. ) The actual rate of rotation depends on various factors. If it is too fast, the antenna pairing may be too short to support communication; if it is too slow, the number of antenna pairs at any given time will be reduced. The antenna structure will also affect the optimal rotation rate, because narrow beam directional antennas are more efficient at lower rotation rates, while wide beam antennas will support higher rotation rates. The preferred range of ω is considered to be one rotation per minute to three rotations per minute, but a wider range may still be operational. In addition, the mass of the rechargeable battery and any ballast is combined with the above Figure 5 The LTA drone 10 described is located in the communication cabin 1030 in the same manner and produces the same effect.

[0074] C. Two-part heavier-than-air rotor UAV with optional lift assist

[0075] Figure 11 is used as a reference Figures 12 to 14 Schematic side view of the UAV 2010, which is the second alternative embodiment of the Type A node in the described system. The UAV 2010 includes a two-part non-orbiting aerial node, where the communication pod in FIGS. 8 to 10 is suspended on a heavier-than-air rotorcraft (HTA UAV) and is provided with optional lift assist by a lighter-than-air gas.

[0076] The HTA UAV 2010 includes a heavier-than-air rotor vehicle 2020, and a communication pod 2030 with a rigid housing is suspended on the rotor vehicle 2020 by a rod-shaped member 2040 that connects the vehicle 2020 and the communication pod 2030. (In this embodiment, the features corresponding to the corresponding parts in the embodiment in FIGS. 1 to 10 are similarly denoted by "2000" series reference numerals.) As in the second embodiment in FIGS. 8 to 10, the vehicle 2020 carries a solar panel SP, a central processing unit 210, a rechargeable battery 410 (including any ballast), and mechanical components similar to component 510 in the manner described in the following paragraph; communication components including an antenna and a route creation / data transmission circuit 310 are housed in the communication pod 2030. Figure 11 The upper antenna array 2102, the side antenna array 2104, and the bottom antenna array 2106 are schematically shown. As described in connection with the UAV 1010, the tasks of the CPU can be divided between the power CPU in the upper vehicle 2020 and the communication CPU in the communication pod 2030.

[0077] The UAV 2010 is the same as the lighter-than-air embodiment in FIGS. 8 to 10 in most operating aspects, but structurally, the heavier-than-air rotor vehicle 2020 replaces the lighter-than-air upper vehicle 1020. In a preferred implementation, the rotor vehicle will include four rotors and their motors 2510, which are spaced 90° apart when viewed from the top ( Figure 11 two motor / rotor units 2510a and 2510b are visible in). The position, height, orientation, and flight path are controlled by inputs to the rotor / motor units 2510, and the inputs to the rotor / motor units 2510 are similar to the inputs of the mechanical component 510 to the fins 1510a and 1510b and the propellers 1520 on the upper vehicle 1020 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 to 10.

[0078] In one implementation, the drone 2010 remains at a fixed geographical location, producing the same effect as an LTA drone. In this case, the operating system module processes inputs from the on-board GNSS circuit and the MSA module to detect movement of the drone 2010 from the desired position, and activates the servo motors and the transmission module to control the rotor / motor unit in a manner similar to that used to control the flaps and propeller motors in the previous implementation, and keeps the drone substantially stationary. Similarly, the rotor can also be used to guide the drone along a desired flight path. In an implementation where the upper vehicle and the lower pod are rigidly attached, the rotor can be controlled to rotate the entire drone about its y-axis, producing the same effect as the implementation shown in FIGS. 8 to 10. In another configuration, in the same manner as the drone 1010, the rod-shaped member mounts the communication pod so that it rotates relative to the upper vehicle. The rotor upper vehicle provides more operation options than a drone with a lighter-than-air upper vehicle. For example, in a structure where the upper vehicle and the lower pod are rigidly attached, the control system can keep the drone in a fixed position or fly it along a predetermined flight path. Alternatively, the rotor vehicle 2020 can rotate integrally about its y-axis, producing the same effect as described above, whether stationary or in motion. In another variant, the upper vehicle and the communication pod are mounted in the same manner as the drone 1010 to allow them to rotate relative to each other. The communication pod can be rotated using an electromagnetic array as in the drone 1020, while the upper vehicle 2020 remains stationary or steers along a predetermined flight path. In a non-rotating application, the communication pod is preferably an oblate ellipsoid, where the x-axis will be aligned with the prevailing wind, and in a rotating application, the communication pod is preferably a prolate ellipsoid.

[0079] An important feature of this implementation is the incorporation of an optional inflatable bladder GB2 into the upper vehicle, which contains helium or other lighter-than-air gas. This gas provides a predetermined amount of buoyancy to the drone 2010, reducing the power required to keep it at the desired altitude. In a preferred implementation, it will keep the drone at the lowest design altitude for a given application, which will allow the drone to use more power to lift it to a desired higher altitude. For example, a given system can be designed for multiple sets of Type A nodes at different altitudes (see Figure 14 ). If a certain number of high-altitude drones are lost due to failure, hostile action, or other reasons, some low-altitude drones can replace them by applying more power to their rotors / motors. Using a lighter-than-air gas to provide lift assistance to the drone 2010, although optional, will reduce the power required for the rotor / motor to perform the above functions.

[0080] III. Route Creation in a System with Orbital Aerial Nodes / Non-Orbital Aerial Nodes

[0081] For reference in the description below of using drones in accordance with this specification, Table 1 lists the distance to the horizon (DH) and footprint of orbiting and non-orbiting aerial nodes at different altitudes. To avoid interfering with commercial aviation, drones and balloons must be above 10 miles; according to FAA regulations, drones can also fly below 400 feet as long as they are not in restricted airspace, such as near airports.

[0082] Table 1

[0083]

[0084] This table illustrates the trade-offs involved in designing communications using only orbiting satellites as system nodes. As the altitude of the satellite increases, the distance to the horizon and the corresponding footprint also increase, making it possible to provide a wider coverage area with fewer satellites, but as the satellite altitude increases, the radio signal strength between the satellite and the ground decreases. Discussed below is how combining an orbiting satellite constellation with multiple non-orbiting aerial nodes (specifically drones in accordance with this disclosure) can improve the performance of satellite-based long-distance communications and provide services in local areas without relying on satellites.

[0085] A. General Description of Exemplary Satellite Deployments

[0086] Figure 12 Shows various forms that a satellite constellation (such as the above-mentioned satellite constellation) can take to implement such a system. This figure is based on a standard Mercator projection of the Earth showing the equator, Tropic of Cancer, and Tropic of Capricorn. Figure 12 Shows an exemplary system including multiple satellites at different altitudes and orbital inclinations, which can be used in the multi-tiered orbiting / non-orbiting node communication system described below Figure 14 and includes three layers, layer A of non-orbiting nodes and layers B, C, and D of satellite nodes, and these nodes operate at different inclinations on orbital trajectories at different altitudes. The orbital trajectory OTB shown by the dashed line represents the satellite SB deployed from the launch site BC at 45° north latitude to a circular orbit at an altitude of 400 miles X . The second orbital trajectory OTC shown by the long dashed line represents the satellite SC deployed from the launch site CC at 28° north latitude to a circular orbit at an altitude of 1000 miles X . The third orbital trajectory OTD shown by the dotted line represents the satellite SD deployed from the launch site SD at 13° north latitude to a circular orbit at an altitude of 2000 miles X . These are examples of the orbital trajectories that satellites can take in this system; for example, a specific layer can include satellites on different orbital trajectories.

[0087] Satellites in orbital trajectories will be processed so that after a certain time, they will appear randomly (stochastically) distributed in the sky to a ground observer. By reasonably arranging the deployment times of the satellites on each orbital trajectory, the length of time required to achieve a random distribution can be reduced, for example, by deploying the satellites at substantially equal intervals on a particular orbital trajectory. Although theoretically it is possible to use a sufficiently complex algorithm to predict or at least estimate the positions of the satellites over time in order to predetermine the deployment times, in the present system it is not necessary to predict their positions relative to each other. This is because as a random system, it relies on probability to establish radio links between different airborne nodes and between airborne nodes and ground nodes.

[0088] The probability of creating a route via a swarm of multiple satellites in unconstrained random orbits through one or more satellites depends on the number of satellites that may be within line of sight of a given point on the Earth's surface at any given time. To illustrate the statistical principles behind such a system, consider a swarm of 100 satellites operating in an orbital path OTB at an altitude of 400 miles. These satellites cover the area between 45° north latitude and 45° south latitude of the Earth. This is approximately 140,000,000 square miles, or about 70% of the approximately 200,000,000 square miles of the Earth's surface. The area covered by the satellites on this orbital trajectory is approximately 10,000,000 square miles. (Table 1; 400-mile-high orbit), shown by the long dashed line in Figure 4 Thus, each satellite on orbital trajectory OT4 within this zone will "cover" approximately 7.1% of the zone (10,000,000 square miles ÷ 140,000,000 square miles), so on average, any point on the surface approximately 1,800 miles from the outer limits of the orbital path (Table 1; DH = 1,830 miles) will "see" at least seven of the 100 satellites (100 × 0.071). (Similarly, one satellite will see 28 other satellites; see Table 1.) Since establishing communication with randomly distributed satellites is based on probability, the system considers the probability that no satellite can be seen from any point in this area to be 92.9%. However, in a swarm of 100 satellites, the probability that at least one satellite cannot be seen from any particular ground location within this area is only 0.929 100 ≈6.3×10 -4 (i.e., approximately 1 / 1,600). The number of satellites seen at positions on the ground near the northern and southern boundaries of the orbital zone (45° north latitude and 45° south latitude in this example) is less, but the probability of establishing a connection with a ground station at these positions is still sufficient to support the immediate establishment of multiple satellite-to-ground radio links with these ground stations. In addition, the system is fully scalable by adding satellites to the swarm, thus increasing the probability of immediately establishing a radio link between a satellite and any given ground station.

[0089] An important factor in forming a multi-satellite radio circuit is the number of other satellites that any given satellite can "see". Referring to Table 1, a satellite on any orbital path can theoretically see other satellites up to a distance of 2×DH above the horizon. In the example of the previous paragraph, each satellite in a 400-mile orbit can theoretically "see" approximately 3,660 miles (2×1,830 miles) above the horizon, but interference from ground structures on the horizon may shorten this distance, so 3,500 miles is a more conservative estimate. Thus, the first satellite receiving the initial routing signal from a ground transmitting station can on average see a large number of other satellites within the zone covered by the constellation (extending between 45° north latitude and 45° south latitude), which may receive routing messages from the first satellite, and the satellites receiving these routing messages will be able to send additional routing messages to many other satellites up to 3,500 miles within the zone, and so on. The purpose of the satellite configurations, routing protocols, ground station configurations, and system architectures described herein is to utilize this property to achieve the purposes to be described. Other important features of the disclosed systems and methods include, but are not limited to, the ability to increase complexity by incorporating more satellites and other types of aerial nodes at different altitudes, the ability to adapt to various aerial node deployment strategies, and the ability to compensate for losses of aerial nodes, such as orbital decay, node failures, and hostile actions.

[0090] An important feature of the system is that when a terrestrial node does not know the location of an aerial node (whether an orbital node or a non-orbital node) and the aerial node does not know the location of other aerial nodes, the system is able to create radio links and combine them into an optimal route via the routing protocol described in the next subsection. By its nature, the system may not always be able to immediately create a route connecting a specific pair of terrestrial nodes, but by wisely choosing the arrangement and number of directional antennas on the aerial nodes and terrestrial nodes, the probability of creating a route during a given route creation phase should be 90%.

[0091] B. Local Routing and Wide-Area Routing Systems and Methods

[0092] Figure 13 For describing an implementation of a protocol for creating an optimal radio circuit route through a system consisting only of non-orbital aerial nodes ("local data transmission") and a system with multiple levels of orbital / non-orbital nodes, will be described below with reference to Figure 14 further description ("wide-area data transmission").

[0093] 1. Local Data Transmission Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

[0094] In one embodiment, route creation is performed separately for a route involving only the drone ("local routing") and a route involving the drone and one or more layers of satellites ("wide-area routing"). Figure 13 is a schematic diagram showing a local routing network that includes radio links created for transmitting data to terrestrial nodes in a system that includes a plurality of non-orbital aerial nodes (such as the nodes shown in FIGS. 1 to Figure 11 The nodes shown in). The next subsection will describe how the routing protocol adapts to transmit data over longer routes through satellites in constellations such as Figure 12 the constellation of medium Earth orbit satellites.

[0095] Figure 13 Using five first-layer nodes 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E as an example, they receive an initial routing message RMI from a terrestrial sending node TNA. A typical terrestrial node will have multiple antennas for sending the initial routing message in multiple directions around a hemispherical space. In the figure, the initial routing message is represented by reference "RMIX", where "X" is the first-layer node that receives the initial routing message. In an actual system, there may be more nodes receiving the initial routing message. The quality Q associated with each initial routing message determined by the first-layer receiving node is given in parentheses for each routing message. The quality Q is a quantitative parameter indicating whether the radio link between two nodes is suitable for supporting inter-node data transmission, as further described below. In this system, Q is the measured signal strength. Other implementations are possible, such as including error-encoded data in the routing message and then evaluating the degree to which the routing message contains error data. However, the measured signal strength is a preferred parameter because it does not require including additional data in the routing message, thus increasing the bandwidth, power, and time required for its transmission.

[0096] In a subsequent interval, all first-layer nodes send first-layer routing messages on all their antennas. The first-layer routing message includes the terrestrial node address information in the received initial routing message and the quality associated with the received initial routing message. The nodes that receive the first-layer routing message are called "second-layer nodes". The figure shows four second-layer nodes 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2E. Consistent with the above terms, the first-layer routing message is represented by reference "RM1X", where "X" is the second-layer node that receives the first-layer routing message. The routing messages received by the second-layer nodes are represented by dashed lines. Each second-layer node records the identity of the antenna on which it receives the first-layer routing message and determines the quality Q associated with the received first-layer routing message.

[0097] Figure 13 shows the routing protocol when a node (such as second-layer node 2A) receives two first-layer routing messages that identify the same terrestrial node. Assume that node 2A receives on antenna AX receives the first - layer routing message RM1A on and at antenna A Y receives the first - layer routing message RM1B. Although the quality of RM1B (Q = 8) is higher than the quality of RM1A (Q = 6), the route through node 1B to the terrestrial node TNA will include a link RMIB with a quality of Q = 1. Applying the principle that "the strength of a chain depends on its weakest link", node 2A will store the antenna A X on which it receives the first - layer routing message RM1A (Q = 6), because other potential routes to the terrestrial node TNA will include a link RM1B with the lowest quality (Q = 1), even though the sum of the quality of link RMIB (Q = 8) and the quality of RM1B (Q = 1) is higher. That is, node 2A discards (does not store) the antenna on which it receives the routing message with the lowest quality (lowest signal strength) in the initial routing message and the first - layer routing message, and stores the identification of the antenna that receives other first - layer routing messages. The stored Q is called the "highest first - layer quality". Figure 13 The sub - route selected by the first - layer node is represented by a thick dotted line, indicating the link established via the preferred first - layer routing message RM1A. The discarded potential links are represented by non - thick dotted lines. The second - layer node stores the identification of the selected antenna A X the quality Q (Q = 2) of the lowest - quality routing signal (RMIA) received on that antenna, and the address information of the terrestrial node TNA to which there is a route from that antenna.

[0098] Then, the second - layer node sends second - layer routing messages on all its antennas. The second - layer routing message will include the terrestrial node TNA address information, and the lower of the quality Q associated with the respective initial routing message linking the first - layer node and the second - layer node and the quality Q associated with the first - layer routing message. In Figure 13 it, the second - layer routing message is represented by reference "RM2X", where "X" represents the node that receives the second - layer routing message ("third - layer node").

[0099] The third - layer node that receives the second - layer routing message processes these messages in the Figure 13 way depicted in it. Taking the first example, two second - layer routing messages sent by node 2A are received by two third - layer nodes 3A and 3C respectively. Node 3A receives the second - layer routing message RM2A1, and node 3C receives the second - layer routing message RM2A2. Since node 3A only receives the second - layer routing message RM2A1, it stores the identification of the antenna on which it receives the routing message RM2A1 and associates the address information of the terrestrial node TNA with that antenna. The potential links established via the second - layer routing message are represented by two - dotted lines, and the selected links are in bold.

[0100] Node 3B receives a single second - layer routing message RM2B1, so there is only one potential route to the terrestrial node TNA. Node 3C receives three second - layer routing messages: RM2A2, RM2B2, and RM2C1 (from second - layer node 2C). The routing message RM2A2 includes the quality (Q = 2) of the initial routing message RMIA, as described above. The second - layer routing message RM2B2 from node 2B includes the quality (Q = 3) of the initial routing message RMIC sent from node 1C to node 2B, because this is the lower of the quality Q (Q = 4) of RM1C1 and the quality Q (Q = 3) of RM1C. The routing message RM2C1 from node 2C includes the quality (Q = 3) of the initial routing message RMIC from node 1C to satellite 2B, because this is the lower of the quality Q (Q = 5) of RM1C2 and the quality Q (Q = 3) of RM1C. Node 3C determines the quality associated with each received second - layer routing message, as well as the quality of the weaker link to the ground station through the second - layer node and the first - layer node. Thus, node 3C selects the sub - route through node 2C established by RM2C1, because compared with Q = 2 for both routing messages RM2B2 and RMIA, the lowest quality of the link returning to the first - layer node via this route is Q = 3 (RMIC). Node 3C stores the antenna from which it received the second - layer routing message RM2C and the address information of the terrestrial node TNA.

[0101] By understanding the algorithm of the circuit for creating a circuit to select the preferred third - layer routing message on which the sub - route is based, the basic principle of selecting the preferred radio - electronic route from the third - layer node back to the ground sending station can be generally described. The route - creating circuit of each third - layer node makes two determinations. First, it determines the quality associated with each second - layer routing message received from the corresponding second - layer node and matches it with the lower link quality included in the associated second - layer routing message: RM2A2 (Q = 7) is matched with RMIA (Q = 2); RM2B2 (Q = 2) is matched with RMIC (Q = 3); and RM2C1 (Q = 5) is matched with RMIC (Q = 3). Second, it identifies the preferred second - layer routing message, which represents the second sub - route from the third - layer node via the first - layer node to the land node TNA. This second sub - route includes the third radio link between the third - layer node and the second - layer node associated with the preferred second - layer routing message. In this case, the preferred third - layer routing message is RM2C1 because the quality of all its links is higher than any of the first, second, or third radio links associated with any other received second - layer routing message; that is, the quality of the links in the sub - route through RM2C1, RM1C2, and RMIC is higher than the lowest - quality link in any other possible sub - route (Q = 3 for RMIC, as opposed to Q = 2 for RMIA and RM2B2). The node memory stores the identification of the antenna that received the preferred third - layer routing message and associates it with the land - node address information in the third - layer routing message.

[0102] Next, the third - layer node transmits the third - layer routing message on all its antennas. The third - layer routing message will include the land - node address information included in the received second - layer routing message and the lowest quality Q associated with the address of the land - sending node TNA.

[0103] Then, all land nodes in the system analyze all the routing messages they receive. Figure 13 The land node TNB is shown. It receives the first - layer routing message RM1D (Q = 2) from node 1D, the second - layer routing message RM2C2 (Q = 6) from node 2C, and the third - layer routing message RM3E (Q = 5) from node 3E. The land - receiving node TNB uses the same algorithm as the node to select the antenna that received the routing message RM3E because the other potential routes ( Figure 13The (represented by a light solid line in the figure) includes the following links: all link qualities lower than the received third-layer routing message and the lowest link quality among the corresponding link qualities included therein. The terrestrial node TNB stores the identification of the selected antenna (the antenna that received the "highest" quality third-layer routing message RM3E) and associates it with the address of the terrestrial transmitting node TNA in the third-layer routing message RM3E. The selected link is represented by Figure 13 the thick solid line in. In a system with 50 terrestrial nodes, this routing method can generate up to 2,450 routes that connect each terrestrial node to another terrestrial node.

[0104] The route established in this way allows the data of the terrestrial receiving node TNB (sometimes referred to as the "source terrestrial node", referring to the point where it is the source of data transmission) to reach the terrestrial transmitting node TNA (sometimes referred to as the "destination terrestrial node" because it is the destination of the data). Due to the way the quality parameter Q is measured, this route automatically becomes the route with the best signal strength between terrestrial nodes. Route creation does not require the nodes to be in precise orientations (fixed pitch, roll, and yaw) or at the same altitude or at known positions because the top antenna array, side antenna array, and bottom antenna array can transmit and receive signals over most of the spherical space around the nodes. This consolidates the probabilistic nature of the routing process, and any one node may receive radio signals from other nodes - even if no node knows the location of any other node. Figure 13 The routing protocol depicted in will automatically select the node-to-node links that create the best routes. As mentioned before, this structure, together with the unique routing method, makes the UAV lightweight, low-cost, and easy to deploy. The same routing protocol also applies to route creation involving satellites in random orbits, which will be discussed later.

[0105] This summarizes how, after selecting the antenna, data is transmitted from TNB to TNA according to the routing protocol described above in combination with Figure 13 :

[0106]

[0107] In one implementation, the route creation / data transfer cycle will last for four seconds, with the route creation phase being one second. It is believed that a particular route will remain sufficiently stable for a long enough time to conduct a three-second data transfer phase before the aerial nodes in the system move such that radio links between some of the nodes are broken and a new route creation phase is required. In one variant, the entire cycle will take 1.0 second, with the route creation phase lasting 0.33 second, followed by a data transfer phase lasting 0.33 second. The remaining time will be in a "quiet" state with no nodes sending radio signals. This will reduce power requirements and extend battery life, while also making it more difficult to detect and damage the aerial nodes. Greater weight reduction can be achieved by introducing a pause between consecutive route creation / data transfer cycles. For example, if a quiet time of 20 to 30 seconds is introduced between consecutive cycles, the power required by the unmanned aerial vehicle (or balloon) can be reduced by an order of magnitude or more, and the weight will also be reduced simultaneously due to the need for fewer solar panels and batteries. It is estimated that a prolate spheroid unmanned aerial vehicle for consecutive route creation / data transfer may require the following: its major axis along the x-axis is 20 to 30 feet, and the maximum diameter is 5 to 6 feet. Introducing a 20- to 30-second pause between cycles results in a major axis of only 3 to 5 feet and a maximum diameter of 2 to 4 feet due to the reduced size of the bladder. Similar size reduction is also possible for embodiments including an oblate spheroid communication pod.

[0108] 2. Wide-area data transfer using unmanned aerial vehicles and satellites

[0109] The routing protocol described above is used in a modified manner to create routes including non-orbiting nodes and orbiting satellites in a constellation such as the constellation depicted. A multi-tier system having the following architecture is an example of a system that supports local data transfer and wide-area data transfer. Figure 14 A multi-tier system having the following architecture is an example of a system that supports local data transfer and wide-area data transfer.

[0110] Referring to Figure 14 a multi-tier system includes aerial nodes in groups that are layered as follows:

[0111] Hierarchy / Group A: Unmanned aerial vehicles and / or balloons at altitudes below 400 feet, or balloons and / or unmanned aerial vehicles at altitudes of 10 to 20 miles. In the embodiments herein, the unmanned aerial vehicles are maintained in fixed positions as previously discussed.

[0112] Hierarchy / Group B: Very low Earth orbit ("VLEO") satellites at altitudes of 200 to 400 miles. These satellites will experience orbital decay due to aerodynamic drag, but they will still remain useful in the system until their orbits decay to an altitude of approximately 100 miles.

[0113] Hierarchy / Group C:Satellites in low Earth orbit (“LEO”) between 800 and 1,000 miles.

[0114] Hierarchy / Group D: Satellites with an orbital altitude greater than 2,000 miles. In some applications, geostationary satellites may be included in this tier.

[0115] The downward-pointing antenna 106 of the drone forms a radio link with terrestrial nodes within its coverage area; the side-pointing antenna 104 allows for routing and data transfer with other drones; and the upward-pointing antenna 102 receives signals and transmits them upward to the next tier, in this case, the Tier B satellite. The drone optimizes this inter-node communication paradigm by distributing the computational load involved in route creation and data transfer, enabling the system to handle significantly more traffic between terrestrial nodes involved in the system at any given time. Route creation and data transfer between terrestrial nodes, between nodes within a given tier, and between nodes in different tiers are performed by adjusting the protocol described in Figure 12 as explained in more detail in Publication No. 796 and summarized below. However, the drone uses separate route creation / data transfer modules 312, 314, and 316 to handle route creation and data transfer tasks based on the nature of the signals received by the antennas in the array to which it is associated. This alleviates most of the computational load on the central processing computer 210 in the drone, which involves the complex routing and data transfer protocols described in Publication No. 796.

[0116] This routing approach effectively treats users, nodes, route creation, route usage, and route timing as different complex frequency bands, different complex altitude ranges, and different complex geographical regions. A system using these concepts is described below to provide a practical global system for long-distance data transfer or supporting telephone calls between terrestrial locations around the world. Figure 13Depicts an exemplary system representative where aerial nodes occupy respective levels "A", "B", "C", and "D", typically comprising more or less distinct levels of four different heights. A feature of this type of system is that it employs low-altitude, non-orbiting aerial nodes, advantageously including the LTA drones and / or HTA drones described herein, to serve local clusters of ground nodes while automatically transitioning to ever-higher altitude satellite nodes at levels B, C, and D for increasingly long-distance multi-level communication routes. Although this exemplary system includes four levels of aerial nodes, it can readily implement different numbers of levels, more levels or fewer levels. In this regard, the number of levels will be determined in part by the expected traffic volume. The percentage of traffic destined for long-distance locations relative to local traffic is also important in determining how many levels to use for any given route. The routing protocols discussed here and the routing protocol in Publication No. 796 allow satellite groups to route messages between them easily, just like the exemplary implementation described there, which illustrates novel decision rules and methods by which nodes themselves can decide whether to route a message to a node in a different level (upper or lower) or to a node in the same level. Thus, data transmission can also occur in routes where links can be established between nodes in the same level or different levels.

[0117] The drones can all be at substantially the same altitude as shown in FIG. 8 or can occupy a range of altitudes, depending on system requirements or local surface topography. This proximity to the ground has two important advantages. First, it enhances the signal strength between the drones and the ground in the manner of a cellular radio base station to consumer device link. This provides sufficient signal strength to penetrate obstacles such as the tops of cars and building roofs. It also allows the use of highly focused antennas, which will allow different antenna beams to work with different users in close proximity to each other. Techniques such as spread-spectrum modulation (i.e., code division multiple access) can also be used to minimize crosstalk between individual users.

[0118] In Figure 14 , the type-A drones are denoted by the letter "A" followed by a letter representing the local area ("H" for Hawaii, "S" for San Francisco, "N" for New York, "L" for London, UK) and a numerical indicator showing that it is a particular drone in a particular local area. For example, AH2 and AH42 represent drone No. 2 and drone No. 42 in the local area covering Hawaii; AS26 and AS12 represent drone No. 26 and drone No. 12 in the local area covering San Francisco; AN26 and AN40 represent drone No. 26 and drone No. 40 in the local area covering New York; AL8 and AL38 represent drone No. 8 and drone No. 38 in the local area covering London. For clarity,Figure 12 Only depicts the representative number of drones in each local area.

[0119] Type B satellites cover a larger area and, in a typical implementation, will allow for the creation of routes between drones in different local areas. The satellite needs to be able to find the downward-pointing antenna of Type A nodes (drones), the sideward-pointing antenna for linking with other Type B satellites, and the upward-pointing antenna for receiving and sending routing messages (and data transmissions) to Type C satellites. Satellites are denoted by the letter "S" followed by the letter of the tier code ("B", "C", or "D") and the number of an individual satellite. For example, Figure 13 Satellites SB101, SB82, SB65, SB71, SB156, SB181, and SB92 are depicted from left to right. The system will include a sufficient number of satellites in random orbits to provide a sufficient probability that links between nodes of different tiers can create the required routes within a specific allocated time. It is expected that a constellation of 200 satellites in Group B will support the multi-tier routing protocol described herein. Type B nodes can also include satellites maintained in pre-planned fixed orbits.

[0120] The orbits of Type C satellites are at an altitude of 800 to 1000 miles. If the satellites are in uncontrolled random orbits, they can be deployed at different altitudes within this range. This group of satellites will be used for routing over medium distances to create routes between different Type B layer satellites. They require horizontal antennas for routing with other Type C layer satellites, upward-pointing antennas for connecting to Type D satellites in higher orbits, and downward-pointing antennas for connecting to Type B satellites. It is expected that a constellation of 50 satellites in Group C will support the routing protocol described here. The above naming convention is also used for Type C layer satellites, where satellites SC45, SC26, SC32, SC12, and SC6 represent five satellites in this group.

[0121] The number of Type D satellites is limited and can be used to establish links between Type C layer satellites to support long-distance communications, such as intercontinental data transmission. Similar to some satellite designs currently in mass production, satellites in polar orbits with equidistant intervals forming a grid on the Earth's surface may also be valuable. Most systems require a limited number of Type D satellites, and their design is preferably determined by the expected traffic load. They require sideward-pointing antennas and downward-pointing antennas. The distance between them may be large, but due to their altitude above the Earth, they will have a very long line of sight over the horizon presented by the Earth's curvature. It is expected that approximately ten satellites in Group D will be sufficient to support the current multi-tier protocol. Figure 14 Satellites SD9, SD2, and SD5 are depicted.

[0122] Creating a route from a specific terrestrial node to another terrestrial node uses a zip code paradigm that uses a "zone code" of five digits {x1, x2, x3, x4, x5} to identify the regions or areas served by different groups of aerial nodes. The first digit refers to the wide area that will be used in the routing protocol when routing messages are directed to D-layer satellites according to the routing protocol described herein. (It is roughly analogous to the regions of the United States identified by the first digit of a zip code.) The following are examples of the wide areas covering the globe referred to by the digit x1:

[0123] x1 = 1: Europe (including Great Britain to 60° West Longitude) (excluding India)

[0124] x1 = 2: Eastern Eurasia, China, and the Pacific Ocean north of the equator

[0125] x1 = 3: North America and the Atlantic Ocean north of the equator

[0126] x1 = 4, 5, 6: Roughly equal areas in a band from the equator north to about 30° North Latitude, including Mexico, North Africa, India, and Southeast Asia

[0127] x1 = 7, 8, 9: Roughly equal areas including South America, the Atlantic Ocean south of the equator, sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean south of the equator.

[0128] The next digit x2 represents the sub-region within each wide area participating in the routing protocol. The sub-regions are associated with C-layer satellites, and each wide area can have up to ten sub-regions (x2 = 0 to 9). The next digit x3 represents the extended local area within each sub-region. The extended local areas are associated with B-class satellites, and each sub-region can have ten extended local areas (x3 = 0 to 9). The last two digits (x4, x5) refer to individual drones within the local area, thus allowing up to 100 drones to be used in the local network (x4, x5 = 00 to 99). Each drone and satellite stores a lookup table that contains the longitude and latitude boundaries of the wide area, sub-region, and extended local area. Like the drones, the satellites also contain GNSS circuitry that can indicate the longitude and latitude of the satellite at any given time, from which the airship or satellite determines its position based on the three-digit zone code.

[0129] Route creation involving drones and satellites in one or more of the B-layer, C-layer, and D-layer involves populating the lookup tables that identify the antennas used in each airship and satellite to send radio signals to nodes in adjacent layers. That is, each drone will pass through the above reference Figure 13Adjustment of the described routing protocol stores the identification of the antenna that provides a link with the best composite quality for satellites in layer B. Instead, layer B will store the identification of the antenna associated with that link. Similarly, the satellites in layers C and D will also know the antennas associated with the best quality links between each of them in the two layers. Thus, each of layers A, B, and C will know the antennas to be used for transmitting data to the adjacent layer. If there are no drones in the local area occupied by B-class satellites during the route creation interval (e.g., in remote areas or on small islands), then a route to the satellite will be created directly from any terrestrial node in that area in a manner similar to the way described above for creating a link between a drone and a B-class satellite. Publication No. 796 describes in more detail the route creation protocol for creating inter-layer links in paragraphs 0170 to 0183.

[0130] 3. Examples of Local Routes and Wide-Area Routes

[0131] Figure 14 Depicts several examples of high-capacity local routes, medium-distance routes, and long-distance routes for data transmission that can be quickly created by using drones in a four-layer satellite / drone system. Figure 14 Shows that all drones are at the same 10-mile altitude, as shown. For ease of reference, Figure 14 the satellite altitude and the distance to the horizon (“DTH”) are also marked. For ease of illustration, Figure 14 the links between the drones and the terrestrial ground nodes in the wide-area routes are omitted.

[0132] 1. Local Route in the New York City Area (Dotted Line)

[0133] Two-hop route — (“Elbow”)

[0134] Three-hop route —

[0135] 2. Wide-Area Route Using Only Layer B Satellites (Single-Dotted Circle Line)

[0136] Between Hawaii and San Francisco —

[0137] Between San Francisco and New York City —

[0138] 3. Wide-Area Route Using Layer B and Layer C Satellites (Double-Dotted Circle Line)

[0139] Between San Francisco and London —

[0140]

[0141] 4. Wide Area Routes Using Satellites in Layers B, C, and D (Three-Circle Dashed Line)

[0142] Between Hawaii and London—

[0143]

[0144] The routes shown in the figure are for example only. Routes can also be created directly between satellites in non-consecutive layers (e.g., creating a route between satellites in Layer B and Layer D), or directly between a drone and a satellite in any one of Layers B, C, and D.

[0145] IV. Operational Applications of the Disclosed Non-Orbital Aerial Nodes

[0146] The above-described embodiments and principles support a wide range of applications of the non-orbital aerial nodes that are the subject of the present disclosure. The structure and operation of the non-orbital aerial nodes can be customized to achieve the goals of a particular system. In some systems, the non-orbital aerial node can be a balloon, or a combination of a balloon and one or more drones depicted in FIGS. 1 to Figure 11 In one embodiment, the balloon node will include the balloon itself and an operating pod that functions the same as drone 10 but without the bladder-like member GB, and the operating pod is suspended by wires on the balloon. This balloon embodiment can be maneuvered using the MSA control module 216. The operating pod can also be an oblate spheroid (such as the communication pod 1030) with a similar antenna array, solar panels, and batteries. The balloon node can be deployed at an altitude of 1 mile to 10 miles. In other embodiments, the balloon node can be tethered to the ground at a lower altitude, say 400 feet, in order to establish a stronger connection with users on the ground.

[0147] The actual physical size of the antenna depends on how much power is required and how much solar power generation is needed. Additionally, the number of downward, lateral, and upward antennas on the drone can vary according to different traffic demands. Separate control of each antenna array by the top antenna route creation / data transmission circuit 312, the lateral antenna route creation / data transmission circuit 314, and the bottom antenna route creation / data transmission circuit 316 will allow a particular system to use different frequencies to create upward, lateral, and downward links. This will also allow each of the individual arrays 102, 104, and 106 to have antennas of different sizes. In systems where the terrestrial nodes have more power, the operating requirements for the bottom antenna array may be less stringent. Conversely, in certain locations (such as a military war zone), the antennas in the bottom array may have to connect to weaker signals from combat troops, so the bottom array needs to have antennas designed for this purpose and / or more antennas. In a system designed to monitor global oil platforms, the downward-pointing antenna preferably can receive signals from multiple oil platforms within a wide area. In a system designed to provide coverage for users on remote islands or small cities in the middle of the desert, where all users are located within a relatively small area, the antennas on the drone can be designed and arranged accordingly.

[0148] Using different frequencies for different antenna arrays also enables the drone (or balloon) to adapt to various specific applications. For example, using different frequencies for the lateral-pointing and downward-pointing antennas can more effectively utilize the bandwidth. In one application, the lateral-pointing antenna can use a first frequency band dedicated to creating a radio link between drones, while the downward-pointing antenna can use a different second frequency band assigned to local police or firefighters. This is particularly advantageous during forest fires in remote areas, as reliable communication among firefighters is crucial. A variation of this arrangement can enhance communication in a war zone, where infantry and tanks need to exchange information in real time. The first frequency band will be dedicated to the radio link between drones, and a selected number of downward-pointing antennas use a different part of the second frequency band to establish a radio link with the tanks, and the remaining downward-pointing antennas use a different part of the second frequency band to establish a radio link with the infantry. The arrangement of the antennas in the downward-pointing array 106 enables the antennas using the first frequency and the second frequency to spread out along the bottom of the drone. For example, the first frequency band portion can use the bottom array antennas 106a and 106c and the antennas 106a and 106c (and their corresponding right-offset portions on the side), while the second frequency band portion uses the remaining bottom array antennas. In a system that includes satellites, the upward-pointing antenna can use a third frequency band different from the first and second frequency bands.

[0149] The disclosed drones (and balloons) can also be used for cellular phone communication in remote areas where there are no available base stations. The routes created as discussed above can be used to transmit cellular phone calls in a manner directly analogous to the way data is transmitted in the multi-tiered system depicted in Figure 14 The destination phone number in a particular call can perform the same function as the destination address in data transmission with respect to the zip code example described above. Cellular phone providers can provide service in areas where a user's device cannot connect to a base station by allocating a small portion (e.g., 10%) of their government-allocated frequency band to the routing method in this disclosure, thus implementing such a system without interrupting normal phone service.

[0150] Other drone / balloon embodiments can include more or fewer antenna groups that are independently controlled or otherwise controlled. In some systems, in cases where the expected local traffic is low, the downward-pointing antenna and the sideward-pointing antenna can be controlled by the same route creation / data transmission circuit. This will reduce the drone cost while still enabling it to adequately handle local traffic. In another variant, in applications where antennas in a single array use different frequencies, the corresponding route creation / data transmission circuit dedicated to that antenna array can use different microprocessors to control the antennas in different arrays.

[0151] V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

[0152] The drones described herein provide a powerful means to implement the Figure 14 multi-tiered drone / satellite system described in

[0153] which is capable of implementing local airspace and long-distance global radio communication in an integrated system. Many previous proposals for drones capable of radio communication used large, solar-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft. Such known drones are very expensive and require significant modification to be used as drones in the multi-tiered systems described herein and in the '796 published text. In fact, many (if not most) of the hardware and software features of the drones described herein, as well as the way they are controlled and the way wireless circuit routes are created between them and with orbiting satellites, are beyond the knowledge of a person of ordinary skill in the art. The drones described herein are relatively inexpensive, which makes it possible to both manufacture a sufficient number of drones more cheaply to support communication systems similar to those described herein and to replace them more cheaply in the event they are damaged or malfunction. Even without a replacement, the routing algorithms described above will automatically recreate routes in the next route creation cycle throughout the system without loss of drones.Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that many other variations are possible for the selected embodiments that illustrate the many structures and methods that make up the disclosed subject matter. The entire disclosure is intended to describe the basic principles and operating characteristics of the systems, methods, and apparatuses that form its subject matter and to enable those skilled in the art to implement them. It in no way limits other embodiments and implementations within its spirit and scope.

Claims

1. A lighter-than-air (LTA) non-orbital aerial node for deployment in a radio communication system that includes at least one terrestrial node and a plurality of said LTA non-orbital aerial nodes, the radio communication system being capable of providing a radio circuit path that includes at least one of said LTA non-orbital aerial nodes, the LTA non-orbital aerial node including a rigid housing that includes: An antenna structure for transmitting radio signals in multiple directions and receiving radio signals in multiple directions; A route creation circuit for determining a quality associated with a routing message received from at least one of a terrestrial node or other non-orbit aerial node, the quality indicating (i) the suitability of including the LTA non-orbit aerial node and the terrestrial node as a link in the radio circuit route or (ii) the suitability of including the LTA non-orbit aerial node and another non-orbit aerial node as a link in the radio circuit route, the route creation circuit including a memory for storing an identification of an antenna associated with the received routing message; A data transmission circuit for using the antenna having an identification stored in the memory to transmit data from the LTA non-orbit aerial node to the terrestrial node or the other non-orbit aerial node; A battery for powering the route creation circuit and the data transmission circuit; And A lighter-than-air gas for providing lift to the LTA non-orbit aerial node.

2. The LTA non-orbital aerial node according to claim 1, wherein, The antenna structure includes a plurality of directional antennas horizontally and substantially parallel to the Earth's surface in multiple directions in a space around the housing, the plurality of directional antennas for transmitting radio signals to and receiving radio signals from other non-orbit aerial nodes when the LTA non-orbit aerial node is deployed in the radio communication system.

3. The LTA non-orbital aerial node according to claim 2, wherein, The antenna structure includes a plurality of directional antennas substantially pointing towards the Earth's surface, the plurality of directional antennas substantially pointing towards the Earth's surface for transmitting radio signals to and receiving radio signals from a plurality of terrestrial nodes when the LTA non-orbit aerial node is deployed in the radio communication system.

4. The LTA non-orbital aerial node according to claim 3, the LTA non-orbital aerial node being for use in a radio communication system that further includes a plurality of orbital satellites, wherein, The antenna structure includes a plurality of directional antennas substantially pointing upwards and away from the Earth's surface, the plurality of directional antennas substantially pointing upwards and away from the Earth's surface for transmitting radio signals to and receiving radio signals from the satellite when the LTA non-orbit aerial node is deployed in the radio communication system.

5. The LTA non-orbital aerial node according to claim 4, wherein, The directional antenna includes a parabolic antenna.

6. The LTA non-orbital aerial node according to claim 1, wherein: The housing is in the shape of a prolate ellipsoid, in which the x-axis is along the major axis of the prolate ellipsoid, and the z-axis together with the x-axis defines an x-z plane, the x-z plane being parallel to the Earth's surface when the LTA non-orbit aerial node is deployed in the radio communication system; and The housing includes a bladder for containing the lighter-than-air gas.

7. The LTA non-orbital aerial node according to claim 1, wherein, The quality includes the signal strength of the received routing message measured by the route creation circuit.

8. The LTA non-orbital aerial node according to claim 1, wherein, The battery is rechargeable, and the housing further includes: a guidance and propulsion system powered by the rechargeable battery for controlling the position and orientation of the LTA non-orbit aerial node; and a solar panel for recharging the battery.

9. A lighter-than-air (LTA) non-orbital aerial node for use in a radio communication system that includes at least one terrestrial node and a plurality of said LTA non-orbital aerial nodes, the radio communication system being capable of providing a radio circuit path that includes at least one of said LTA non-orbital aerial nodes, the LTA non-orbital aerial node including a rigid housing and a communication pod suspended from the rigid housing, wherein: The communication module includes: (a) An antenna structure for transmitting radio signals in multiple directions and receiving radio signals in multiple directions, (b) A route creation circuit for determining the quality associated with a routing message received from at least one of a terrestrial node or other non-orbit aerial node, the quality indicating (i) the suitability of including the LTA non-orbit aerial node and the terrestrial node as a link in the radio circuit route or (ii) the suitability of including the LTA non-orbit aerial node and another non-orbit aerial node as a link in the radio circuit route, the route creation circuit including a memory for storing the identification of the antenna associated with the received routing message, and (c) A data transmission circuit for using the antenna with the identification stored in the memory to transmit data from the LTA non-orbit aerial node to the terrestrial node or the other non-orbit aerial node; and The housing includes: (a) A guidance and propulsion system for controlling the position and orientation of the LTA non-orbit aerial node; a battery for powering the guidance and propulsion system, the route creation circuit, and the data transmission circuit, (b) A lighter-than-air gas for providing lift to the LTA non-orbit aerial node.

10. The LTA non-orbit aerial node according to claim 9, wherein, The antenna structure includes: A plurality of directional antennas horizontally and substantially parallel to the Earth's surface in multiple directions in the space around the housing, the plurality of directional antennas for transmitting radio signals to and receiving radio signals from other non-orbit aerial nodes when the LTA non-orbit aerial node is deployed in the radio communication system; and A plurality of directional antennas substantially pointing towards the Earth's surface, the plurality of directional antennas substantially pointing towards the Earth's surface for transmitting radio signals to and receiving radio signals from a plurality of terrestrial nodes when the LTA non-orbit aerial node is deployed in the radio communication system.

11. The LTA non-orbit aerial node according to claim 10, the LTA non-orbit aerial node being for use in a radio communication system further comprising a plurality of orbiting satellites, wherein, The antenna structure includes a plurality of directional antennas substantially pointing upwards and away from the Earth's surface, the plurality of directional antennas substantially pointing upwards and away from the Earth's surface for transmitting radio signals to and receiving radio signals from the satellite when the LTA non-orbit aerial node is deployed in the radio communication system.

12. The LTA non-orbit aerial node according to claim 11, wherein, The directional antenna includes a parabolic antenna.

13. The LTA non-orbit aerial node according to claim 9, wherein: The battery is rechargeable, and the housing includes: a solar panel for recharging the battery; and a bladder for containing the lighter-than-air gas; The housing is in the shape of a prolate ellipsoid, in which the x-axis is along the major axis of the prolate ellipsoid, and the z-axis together with the x-axis defines an x-z plane that is parallel to the Earth's surface when the LTA non-orbit aerial node is deployed in the radio communication system; and The communication pod is in an oblate spheroid shape and is mounted on the housing to rotate about an axis perpendicular to the x-z plane.

14. The LTA non-orbit aerial node according to claim 9, wherein, The quality includes the signal strength of the received routing message measured by the route creation circuit.

15. A lighter-than-air (LTA) non-orbit aerial node for use in a radio communication system, the radio communication system comprising at least one terrestrial node and a plurality of said LTA non-orbit aerial nodes, the radio communication system being capable of providing a radio circuit path including at least one of said LTA non-orbit aerial nodes, the LTA non-orbit aerial node comprising a balloon for holding the LTA non-orbit aerial node against gravity and a communication pod suspended from the balloon, wherein, The communication pod includes: An antenna structure for transmitting radio signals in multiple directions and receiving radio signals in multiple directions; A route creation circuit for determining a quality associated with a routing message received from at least one of a terrestrial node or another non-orbital air node, the quality indicating (i) the suitability of including the LTA non-orbital air node and the terrestrial node as a link in the radio circuit route or (ii) the suitability of including the LTA non-orbital air node and another non-orbital air node as a link in the radio circuit route, the route creation circuit including a memory for storing an identification of an antenna associated with the received routing message; A data transmission circuit for using the antenna with the identification stored in the memory to transmit data from the LTA non-orbital air node to the terrestrial node or the other non-orbital air node; and A battery for powering the route creation circuit and the data transmission circuit.

16. The LTA non-orbit aerial node according to claim 15, wherein, The antenna structure includes: A plurality of directional antennas horizontally and substantially parallel to the Earth's surface in multiple directions in the space around the housing, the plurality of directional antennas for transmitting radio signals to and receiving radio signals from other non-orbital air nodes when the LTA non-orbital air node is deployed in the radio communication system; and A plurality of directional antennas substantially pointing to the Earth's surface, the plurality of directional antennas substantially pointing to the Earth's surface for transmitting radio signals to and receiving radio signals from a plurality of terrestrial nodes when the LTA non-orbital air node is deployed in the radio communication system.

17. The LTA non-orbit aerial node according to claim 16, the LTA non-orbit aerial node being for use in a radio communication system further comprising a plurality of orbiting satellites, wherein,The antenna structure includes a plurality of directional antennas substantially pointing upward and away from the Earth's surface, the plurality of directional antennas substantially pointing upward and away from the Earth's surface for transmitting radio signals to and receiving radio signals from the satellite when the LTA non-orbital air node is deployed in the radio communication system.

18. The LTA non-orbital aerial node according to claim 17, wherein, The directional antenna includes a parabolic antenna.

19. The LTA non-orbital aerial node according to claim 16, wherein: The communication pod is in an oblate spheroid shape and has a substantially circular cross-section, the cross-section being oriented parallel to the Earth's surface when the LTA non-orbital air node is deployed in the radio communication system; and The battery is rechargeable and the housing includes a solar panel for recharging the battery.

20. The LTA non-orbital aerial node according to claim 16, wherein, The communication pod further includes a guidance and propulsion system powered by the battery for controlling the position and orientation of the LTA non-orbital air node.

21. A heavier-than-air (HTA) non-orbital aerial node for use in a radio communication system including at least one terrestrial node and a plurality of said HTA non-orbital aerial nodes, the radio communication system being capable of providing a radio circuit path including at least one of said HTA non-orbital aerial nodes, the HTA non-orbital aerial node including a rotorcraft and a communication pod suspended from the rotorcraft, wherein: The communication pod includes: (a) An antenna structure for transmitting radio signals in multiple directions and receiving radio signals in multiple directions, (b) A route creation circuit for determining the quality associated with a routing message received from at least one of a terrestrial node or other non-orbital aerial node, the quality indicating (i) the suitability of including the HTA non-orbital aerial node and the terrestrial node as a link in the wireless circuit route or (ii) the suitability of including the HTA non-orbital aerial node and another non-orbital aerial node as a link in the wireless circuit route, the route creation circuit including a memory for storing an identification of an antenna associated with the received routing message, and (c) A data transmission circuit for transmitting data from the LTA non-orbital aerial node to the terrestrial node or the other non-orbital aerial node using the antenna with the identification stored in the memory; and The rotorcraft includes: (a) A guidance and propulsion system for controlling the position and orientation of the HTA non-orbital aerial node; a battery for powering the guidance and propulsion system, the route creation circuit, and the data transmission circuit, (b) A lighter-than-air gas for providing lift to the HTA non-orbital aerial node.

22. The HTA non-orbital aerial node according to claim 21, wherein, The antenna structure includes: A plurality of directional antennas horizontally and substantially parallel to the Earth's surface in multiple directions in the space around the housing, the plurality of directional antennas for transmitting radio signals to and receiving radio signals from other non-orbital aerial nodes when the HTA non-orbital aerial node is deployed in the radio communication system; and A plurality of directional antennas substantially pointing towards the Earth's surface, the plurality of directional antennas substantially pointing towards the Earth's surface for transmitting radio signals to and receiving radio signals from a plurality of terrestrial nodes when the HTA non-orbital aerial node is deployed in the radio communication system.

23. The HTA non-orbital aerial node according to claim 22 for use in a radio communication system further including a plurality of orbital satellites, wherein, The antenna structure includes a plurality of directional antennas pointing substantially upward and away from the Earth's surface, the plurality of directional antennas pointing substantially upward and away from the Earth's surface for transmitting radio signals to and receiving radio signals from the satellite when the HTA non-orbital aerial node is deployed in the radio communication system.

24. The HTA non-orbital aerial node according to claim 23, wherein, The directional antenna includes a parabolic antenna.

25. The HTA non-orbital aerial node according to claim 21, wherein: The communication pod is in an oblate spheroid shape and is mounted on the rotorcraft for rotation; The battery is rechargeable, and the rotorcraft includes a solar panel for recharging the battery; and The rotorcraft is configured to operate with the rotation axis of the oblate spheroid substantially perpendicular to the Earth's surface when the HTA non-orbital aerial node is deployed in the radio communication system.

26. A non-orbital aerial node for use in a radio communication system comprising at least one terrestrial node and a plurality of said non-orbital aerial nodes, the radio communication system being capable of providing a radio circuit path including at least one of said non-orbital aerial nodes, the non-orbital aerial node comprising: An antenna structure for transmitting radio signals in multiple directions and receiving radio signals in multiple directions, wherein the antenna structure includes: a plurality of directional antennas that are horizontally and substantially parallel to the Earth's surface in multiple directions in the space around the non-orbital air node, the plurality of directional antennas being used to transmit radio signals to other non-orbital air nodes and receive radio signals from other non-orbital air nodes in a first frequency band; and a plurality of directional antennas that are substantially directed towards the Earth's surface, the plurality of directional antennas that are substantially directed towards the Earth's surface being used to transmit radio signals to a plurality of terrestrial nodes and receive radio signals from a plurality of terrestrial nodes in a second frequency band, the second frequency band being different from the first frequency band; A route creation circuit for determining the quality associated with a routing message received from at least one of a terrestrial node or another non-orbital air node, the quality indicating (i) the suitability of including the non-orbital air node and the other non-orbital air node as a link in the wireless route or (ii) the suitability of including the non-orbital air node and the terrestrial node as a link in the wireless route, the route creation circuit including a memory for storing an identification of the antenna associated with the received routing message; and A data transmission circuit for using the antenna with the identification stored in the memory to transmit data from the non-orbital air node to the terrestrial node or from the non-orbital air node to the other non-orbital air node.

27. The non-orbital aerial node according to claim 26, wherein, A first number of the directional antennas that are substantially directed towards the Earth's surface transmit radio signals and receive radio signals in a first portion of the second frequency band, and a second number of different directional antennas transmit radio signals and receive radio signals in a second portion of the second frequency band, the second portion of the second frequency band being different from the first portion.

28. The non-orbital aerial node according to claim 27, the non-orbital aerial node for use in a radio communication system further comprising a plurality of orbital satellites, wherein, The antenna structure includes a plurality of directional antennas that are substantially directed upward and away from the Earth's surface, the plurality of directional antennas that are substantially directed upward and away from the Earth's surface being used to transmit radio signals to the satellite and receive radio signals from the satellite in a third frequency band, the third frequency band being different from the first frequency band and the third frequency band being different from the second frequency band.

29. The non-orbital aerial node according to claim 28, wherein, The directional antenna includes a parabolic antenna.

30. The non-orbital aerial node according to claim 27, wherein, The quality includes the signal strength of the received routing message measured by the route creation circuit.

31. The non-orbital aerial node according to claim 26, the non-orbital aerial node comprising a lighter-than-air (LTA) aerial node having a rigid housing, the rigid housing comprising: The antenna structure; The route creation circuit; The data transmission circuit; A rechargeable battery for powering the route creation circuit and the data transmission circuit; a solar panel for recharging the battery; and a bladder for containing a gas lighter than air to provide lift to the LTA air node.

32. The non-orbital aerial node according to claim 26, the non-orbital aerial node comprising a lighter-than-air (LTA) aerial node having a rigid housing and a communication pod suspended from the rigid housing, wherein: The communication pod includes the antenna structure, the route creation circuit, and the data transmission circuit; And The housing includes: a guidance and propulsion system for controlling the position and orientation of the LTA aerial node; a rechargeable battery for powering the guidance and propulsion system, the route creation circuit, and the data transmission circuit; a solar panel for recharging the battery; and a bladder for containing a gas lighter than air to provide lift to the LTA aerial node.

33. The non-orbital aerial node according to claim 26, the non-orbital aerial node comprising a lighter-than-air (LTA) aerial node comprising a balloon for maintaining the LTA aerial node against gravity and a communication pod suspended from the balloon, wherein, The communication pod includes: an antenna structure for transmitting radio signals in multiple directions and receiving radio signals in multiple directions; the route creation circuit; the data transmission circuit; a rechargeable battery for powering the route creation circuit and the data transmission circuit; and a solar panel for recharging the battery.

34. The non-orbital aerial node according to claim 26, the non-orbital aerial node comprising a heavier-than-air (HTA) node, the heavier-than-air node comprising a rotary-wing aircraft and a communication pod suspended from the rotary-wing aircraft, wherein: The communication pod includes the antenna structure, the route creation circuit, and the data transmission circuit; and The rotorcraft includes: a guidance and propulsion system for controlling the position and orientation of the HTA non-orbital aerial node; a rechargeable battery for powering the guidance and propulsion system, the route creation circuit, and the data transmission circuit; a solar panel for recharging the battery; and a bladder for containing a gas lighter than air to provide lift to the HTA node.

35. A radio communication system, the radio communication system comprising: A plurality of terrestrial nodes, each terrestrial node including a terrestrial node antenna structure for transmitting radio signals in multiple directions and receiving radio signals in multiple directions around a hemispherical space; and a plurality of non-orbital aerial nodes for providing a wireless circuit path between at least two of the terrestrial nodes via at least one of the non-orbital aerial nodes, each non-orbital aerial node including an aerial node antenna structure, the radio communication system comprising: A plurality of directional antennas horizontally and substantially parallel to the Earth's surface in multiple directions in the space around the non-orbital aerial node for transmitting radio signals to and receiving radio signals from other non-orbital aerial nodes in a first frequency band to enable one or more links in the wireless circuit path to be established between the plurality of non-orbital aerial nodes; and A plurality of directional antennas substantially pointing towards the Earth's surface for transmitting radio signals to and receiving radio signals from the plurality of terrestrial nodes in a second frequency band to enable one or more links in the wireless circuit path to be established between the terrestrial nodes and the non-orbital aerial nodes, the second frequency band being different from the first frequency band.

36. The radio communication system according to claim 35, wherein, A first number of the directional antennas that are generally directed towards the Earth's surface transmit and receive radio signals in a first portion of the second frequency band, and a second number of different directional antennas transmit and receive radio signals in a second portion of the second frequency band, the second portion of the second frequency band being different from the first portion.

37. The radio communication system according to claim 36, the radio communication system further comprising a plurality of orbital satellites, wherein, The aerial node antenna structure includes a plurality of directional antennas that are generally directed upward and away from the Earth's surface, and the plurality of directional antennas that are generally directed upward and away from the Earth's surface are used to transmit radio signals to and receive radio signals from the satellite in a third frequency band, so that one or more links in the radio circuit line can be established between the satellite and the non-orbital aerial node, the third frequency band being different from the first frequency band and the third frequency band being different from the second frequency band.

38. The radio communication system according to claim 37, wherein, The satellite is arranged to include a plurality of clusters of satellites located at different orbital altitudes, each of the clusters including a plurality of satellites.

39. The radio communication system according to claim 37, wherein, The satellites are in randomly distributed orbits.

40. The radio communication system according to claim 35, wherein, The radio circuit line includes a plurality of the non-orbital aerial nodes.

41. The radio communication system according to claim 35, wherein, The non-orbital aerial nodes include a plurality of lighter-than-air aerial nodes and a plurality of heavier-than-air aerial nodes.

42. The radio communication system according to claim 35, the radio communication system comprising a plurality of the non-orbital air nodes at different altitudes.

43. The radio communication system according to claim 35, wherein, The non-orbital aerial nodes include a plurality of lighter-than-air aerial nodes and a plurality of heavier-than-air aerial nodes.

44. The radio communication system according to claim 35, wherein, At least some of the non-orbital aerial nodes are located at altitudes below the maximum altitude permitted by government regulations.

45. The radio communication system according to claim 44, wherein, At least some of the non-orbital aerial nodes are located at altitudes above 10 miles.

46. The radio communication system according to claim 35, wherein, At least some of the non-orbital aerial nodes are located at altitudes above 10 miles.

47. The non-orbital air node according to claim 35, wherein, The directional antenna includes a parabolic antenna.

48. The radio communication system according to claim 35, wherein, Each of the non-orbital aerial nodes further includes: A route creation circuit that is configured to determine a quality associated with a routing message received from at least one of a terrestrial node or another non-orbital aerial node, the quality indicating (i) the suitability of including the non-orbital aerial node and another non-orbital aerial node as a link in the radio circuit line or (ii) the suitability of including the non-orbital aerial node and the terrestrial node as a link in the radio circuit line, the route creation circuit including a memory for storing an identification of an antenna associated with the received routing message; A data transmission circuit that is configured to use the antenna whose identification is stored in the memory to transmit data from the non-orbital aerial node to the terrestrial node or the other non-orbital aerial node; and A route creation / data transfer circuit, which is used to control the route creation circuit and the data transfer circuit to provide a route creation / data transfer cycle. The route creation / data transfer cycle includes a route creation phase within a first time interval and a subsequent data transfer phase within a second time interval. The node sends a routing message during the route creation phase to create the wireless circuit line, and the data transfer phase is used to transmit data between the terrestrial nodes via the wireless circuit line.

49. The radio communication system according to claim 48, wherein, The route creation / data transfer cycle lasts for a specific time, followed by multiple other route creation / data transfer cycles.

50. The radio communication system according to claim 48, wherein, The route creation / data transfer cycle lasts for a specific time, with a pause between the route creation phase and the data transfer phase. During the pause, no node emits a radio signal, followed by multiple other route creation / data transfer cycles including the pause.

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