UAV Handover Using GPS Position Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mobile network technologies are not optimized for handover procedures of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the lower airspace, as they rely on terrestrial traffic patterns and fail to accurately determine the next best serving cell due to the unique line-of-sight relationships and geographical positions of UAVs.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating GPS or GNSS information as an additional indicator for handover decisions, allowing the network to determine eligible serving cells based on the UAV's geographical position, thereby limiting handover to a specific set of cells that can maintain connectivity and improve signal strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional terrestrial handover procedures are used for UAVs, then the network can maintain compatibility with existing mobile terminal protocols, but the handover accuracy and connectivity reliability deteriorate due to the unique line-of-sight relationships and geographical positions of UAVs in the lower airspace
Solution Approach 1:
The network pre-determines and provides a list of candidate serving cells to the UAV based on its geographical position obtained from GPS/GNSS information. This preliminary action allows the UAV to have a predefined set of appropriate target cells for handover, improving both the reliability of connectivity and the accuracy of serving cell determination, as the candidate cells are selected in advance based on the UAV's specific spatial context rather than using generic terrestrial handover procedures
Solution Approach 2:
GPS/GNSS geographical position information serves as an intermediary element between the UAV and the network's handover decision-making process. The position information enables the network to accurately determine which cells are appropriate serving candidates for the UAV's specific location in the lower airspace, resolving the contradiction by providing precise spatial context that bridges the gap between traditional protocols and UAV-specific requirements
2Adaptability or versatility
If all possible cells are considered for handover, then the network can provide maximum flexibility and coverage options, but the complexity of handover management and cell selection increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The network segments the large set of all possible cells into a manageable subset of candidate serving cells based on the UAV's geographical position. By dividing the cell selection space into relevant and irrelevant portions, the system maintains adaptability within the candidate set while reducing management complexity through the position-based filtering mechanism
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of cell selection from considering all cells to considering only those within a position-dependent candidate set. This parameter change, driven by GPS/GNSS location information, reduces the search space and management complexity while preserving adaptability within the contextually relevant cell group
Data Source
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AI summary
The disclosure relates to GPS supported handover techniques for unmanned aerial vehicles. In particular, the disclosure relates to a mobile terminal (510), in particular an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising: a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver (511) configured to receive information about a geographical position (513) of the mobile terminal (510); and a radio transceiver (512) configured to: transmit the geographical position (513) of the mobile terminal (510) to a serving cell (520, 201) of a cellular network (540, 300) which connects the mobile terminal (510) to the cellular network (540, 300), and receive information (514) about specific serving cells (302) of the cellular network (540, 300) which are entitled to pick up the connection from the serving cell (520, 201) once a handover criterion is fulfilled, wherein the specific serving cells (302) depend on the geographical position (513) of the mobile terminal (510).