Drone UE Indication for Altitude-Aware Interference Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wireless networks face challenges in differentiating between drones and ground devices, particularly due to varying radio conditions at different altitudes, which affects radio resource management and cochannel interference, and existing technologies are not optimized to handle these differences.
Innovation Solution
Introducing a 'drone UE' category that conveys a 'drone LTE' indicator to the wireless network during connection, allowing for height reporting, enabling the network to configure power control, manage interference, and optimize radio resource management based on the drone's altitude.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a unified wireless communication system is used for both ground devices and drones, then network coverage and basic connectivity are maintained, but radio resource management cannot be optimized for drone-specific conditions and interference management becomes suboptimal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the user equipment into distinct categories: ground UEs and drone UEs. This segmentation allows the network to apply different radio resource management strategies, power control parameters, and interference management techniques tailored to each type of device's operational characteristics and radio conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic indicators that can change based on drone operational status. The drone UE indication can be transmitted at different stages (initial access, RRC connection, handover) and can be updated as the drone transitions between operational modes, allowing the network to adapt resource management in real-time.
2Area of stationary object
If drone UEs operate at higher altitudes with different radio conditions, then coverage area and signal propagation are improved, but cochannel interference patterns change and existing RRM cannot manage interference effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing interference management strategies that are specific to the drone's operational context. The network can configure different power control parameters, resource allocation patterns, and interference coordination mechanisms based on the drone's altitude, location, and operational mode, rather than applying uniform ground-based RRM rules.
3Device complexity
If existing wireless network infrastructure is used without modification, then deployment cost and system complexity are minimized, but the network cannot differentiate between drone and ground UEs for optimized communication handling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary indicator mechanism that enables drone differentiation without requiring fundamental changes to the wireless network infrastructure. The drone UE indication acts as a mediator that carries operational status information from the drone UE to the network, allowing the network to apply differentiated RRM and interference management while maintaining compatibility with existing LTE/5G protocols and infrastructure.
Data Source
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AI summary
The disclosure relates to drone user equipment (UE) indications that may be conveyed to a wireless network. In particular, a UE that has flight capabilities (i.e., capabilities to operate as an unmanned aircraft system) and optional further capabilities to report a current height level may indicate such capabilities to the wireless network. As such, the wireless network may differentiate the drone UE from other UEs that only operate on the ground. Furthermore, the optional current height level may enable the wireless network to differentiate among drone UEs operating at different heights and/or from other UEs that are operating on the ground. The wireless network may further use the information indicating the flight capabilities either alone or in combination with the optional height information to configure power control parameters, manage interference, provide mobility management functions, generate neighbor lists, control beamforming, or implement a radio resource configuration or management procedure.