Drone Wireless Links With Low-Latency Cellular Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) face challenges in reliably receiving command and control signals and transmitting inspection video due to insufficient radio frequency wireless links from human-operated controllers, leading to potential latency issues and loss of control.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a cellular network with a first and second air interface to directly route signals between a UAV controller and UAV without using a virtual private network (VPN), utilizing ultra-low latency paths through the cellular network's outer core or base station, thereby avoiding the network core and data centers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If signals are routed through a VPN for secure communication between UAV controller and UAV, then security is improved, but latency increases and communication reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the signal routing path from the traditional VPN-based network core infrastructure and creates a dedicated direct path through the cellular network's base station. This separation removes the signal from the congested and secure-but-slow VPN routing, achieving low latency while maintaining security through the cellular network's inherent security mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The communication path is segmented into two distinct interfaces: a first air interface for control signals and a second air interface for video/data. Each interface operates independently with optimized routing, allowing critical control signals to bypass VPN overhead while video traffic uses appropriate routing, thus resolving the latency-reliability contradiction for different traffic types.
2Loss of time
If a direct RF wireless link is used from the UAV controller to the UAV, then latency is reduced, but communication reliability and coverage are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The cellular network base station serves as an intermediary between the UAV controller and the UAV. Instead of a direct peer-to-peer RF link, the base station mediates the communication, providing reliable cellular-grade connectivity while maintaining low latency through direct routing. This intermediary approach combines the low latency of direct communication with the reliability of cellular infrastructure.
3Reliability
If signals are routed through the cellular network core and data centers, then network security and management are improved, but latency increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary setup by establishing dedicated radio bearers and configuring the base station with appropriate quality of service parameters before actual UAV control operations begin. This preliminary configuration enables subsequent low-latency communication without requiring real-time routing decisions through the network core, thus maintaining both security and low latency during operation.
Data Source
AI summary
Solutions for low latency edge processing for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, “drone”) wireless links (e.g., air interfaces) include: receiving, by a first base station of a cellular network, from a UAV controller, over a first air interface, a first signal; routing the first signal from the first base station to the UAV, over a second air interface, without routing the first signal through a virtual private network (VPN); and controlling a flight parameter of the UAV based on at least the first signal. Further examples include: registering, by a UAV controller, with a cellular network; registering, by a UAV, with the cellular network; transmitting, by the UAV controller, to a first base station of the cellular network, over a first air interface, a first signal; and receiving, by the UAV, from the cellular network, over a second air interface, the first signal, without routing the first signal through a VPN.