Ground Terminal Beam Steering for UAV Network Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current broadband access systems, particularly satellite-based systems, are costly and inefficient for providing internet services to remote and lightly populated areas due to high satellite hardware and launch costs, making it unfeasible to justify deployment in poorer regions.
Innovation Solution
The system employs unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to relay internet traffic, optimizing beam pointing and adjustment based on UAV altitude and movement, using ground terminals and gateways to establish and maintain stable connections with UAVs, thereby reducing the need for costly satellite infrastructure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If satellite-based broadband systems are deployed, then internet access can be provided to remote areas, but the cost of satellite hardware and launch makes it unfeasible for poorer regions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive, long-lived satellites with cheaper, shorter-lived UAVs (drones) that can be deployed at a fraction of the cost. The UAVs serve as temporary but effective broadband relays, eliminating the need for costly satellite infrastructure while providing the same coverage capability to remote and underserved areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces UAVs as intermediary devices between ground terminals and the core network. These UAVs act as mobile relay stations that receive signals from ground terminals and forward them to satellites or ground gateways, thereby providing broadband access without requiring direct satellite-to-ground infrastructure in remote areas.
2Reliability
If beam pointing is optimized based on UAV altitude and movement, then connection stability improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the ground terminal continuously monitors the UAV's position, altitude, and movement. Based on this feedback, the ground terminal dynamically adjusts its beam pointing and orientation to maintain optimal connection stability, thereby managing the complexity through automated closed-loop control rather than manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The ground terminal performs self-adjustment of beam pointing based on received UAV position information. The system automatically tracks and compensates for UAV movement without requiring external control, thereby improving connection stability while keeping the control mechanism relatively simple and autonomous.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for detecting an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Network access (for example, to the Internet) may be provided by detecting a UAV and fixing one or more beams from one or more ground terminals to the UAV. In one embodiment, the detection of a UAV includes forming and pointing beams from a ground terminal and ground gateways toward the UAV. The ground terminal may be configured to autonomously steer its antenna beam during initial installation to detect the reference signal from a UAV. In one variant, the ground terminals are steered to more finely track the position of the UAV based on a signal quality metric such as received signal strength and the UAV real-time position location coordinates. In one embodiment, the ground terminal antenna is initially manually pointed toward the UAV, and thereafter allowed to automatically steer to track the position of the UAV. In another embodiment the UAV antenna is steered toward a ground terminal using signal qualify received from the ground terminal and real-time position coordinates and orientation of the UAV.