Air-to-Ground Handover via Synchronized Base Station Groups
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current air-to-ground communication systems face challenges in performing fast and seamless handovers between ground base stations due to the high velocity of aircraft, leading to potential communication disruptions and data loss, as existing solutions are not optimized for such fast-moving mobile stations.
Innovation Solution
The method involves identifying and synchronizing a group of active ground base stations along an aircraft's flight path, using load balancing to select a serving base station, and maintaining communication by adding or removing base stations as necessary, ensuring all active stations receive ground-to-air data, with synchronization and load balancing managed by a Management Entity and gateway stations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If traditional handover procedures are used in air-to-ground communication systems, then existing ground base station switching mechanisms can be applied, but handover speed is insufficient and communication disruptions occur due to high aircraft velocity
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-identifies and pre-synchronizes a group of candidate ground base stations along the predicted flight path before the aircraft reaches their coverage areas. This preliminary preparation of communication resources enables instantaneous handover execution when needed, resolving the contradiction between fast handover speed and communication reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the set of active ground base stations based on real-time aircraft position and velocity. By continuously updating the candidate base station group and maintaining synchronized communication resources that adapt to aircraft motion, the system achieves both high handover speed and uninterrupted communication.
2Reliability
If multiple ground base stations are synchronized and maintained in the active group, then service continuity is improved, but system complexity and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the large set of ground base stations into smaller, manageable groups based on geographical proximity to the aircraft's flight path. Only base stations within the active group undergo full synchronization, while others remain in standby mode. This segmentation reduces system complexity while maintaining service continuity through the coordinated active group.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies full synchronization and resource allocation only to the local subset of ground base stations that are currently active and relevant to the aircraft's position. Base stations farther from the flight path receive minimal or no synchronization resources. This localized quality approach ensures service continuity where needed while minimizing overall system complexity.
3Reliability
If ground base stations are pre-synchronized along the flight path, then handover seamless is achieved, but data transmission overhead and network load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs synchronization and data buffering in advance along the predicted flight path, preparing communication resources before they are needed. This preliminary action ensures seamless handover execution without real-time data loss, while the advance preparation prevents last-minute resource scrambling that would consume more energy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically controls the scope and intensity of synchronization based on aircraft velocity, position, and predicted trajectory. When aircraft velocity is high, more aggressive pre-synchronization is applied. When velocity is low or the aircraft is stable, synchronization intensity is reduced. This dynamic adaptation minimizes network resource consumption while maintaining seamless handover quality.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention is a method and system for performing seamless and fast handover in air-to-ground wireless communication networks. Handover is accomplished by means of maintaining an active group from a plurality of ground base stations along a known trajectory (or flight plan) of an aircraft and synchronizing communication between all the ground base stations in the active group. Thus the system is designed such that the method is able to perform load balancing, i.e. to take into account that multiple aircraft may be in a particular geographic area at the same time.