Antenna Steering System For Directional Microwave Link With UAV Communications
Pascual Campo, Pablo (2018)
Pascual Campo, Pablo
2018
Tieto- ja sähkötekniikan tiedekunta - Faculty of Computing and Electrical Engineering
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2018-04-04
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tty-201803231428
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tty-201803231428
Tiivistelmä
In the past few years, new uses for UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) have been discovered and deeply developed due to the potential advantages this technology can offer in the modern world. One attractive use for this aerial technology is the carriage of LTE stations to provide temporary wireless coverage in certain scenarios.
Necessary information for the proper operation of the system is exchanged through a key backbone link established between UAV and a ground station (GS). However, with current designs, this link can only be established for small distances. For many applications concerning the use of UAVs, a backbone link working at medium-high distances could be really useful. The goal of this thesis is designing a steering algorithm to make possible a future enlargement of this key link.
To make this possible, two high gain, high directivity antennas are used. The first one will be installed in the UAV, and the second one in the ground station. Behind these devices, a steering system will be integrated to point them properly to each other. This way, the link will be operative all the time.
Along this thesis, the design of the software algorithm providing the angles to point the antennas have been developed. It is also explained the configuration of the servo motors to provide the desired angles. As a result, it is obtained an accurate steering system providing the values of elevation and azimuth for both antennas. It is only left to attach the servo motors to a mechanical structure to obtain the final rotation.
With the steering system developed within this research thesis, many kinds of am- ateur and professional aerial vehicles can be operated from medium-high distances. The system provides a complete autonomous solution, avoiding the need of any kind of human iteration, which makes the method transparent for the final user.
Necessary information for the proper operation of the system is exchanged through a key backbone link established between UAV and a ground station (GS). However, with current designs, this link can only be established for small distances. For many applications concerning the use of UAVs, a backbone link working at medium-high distances could be really useful. The goal of this thesis is designing a steering algorithm to make possible a future enlargement of this key link.
To make this possible, two high gain, high directivity antennas are used. The first one will be installed in the UAV, and the second one in the ground station. Behind these devices, a steering system will be integrated to point them properly to each other. This way, the link will be operative all the time.
Along this thesis, the design of the software algorithm providing the angles to point the antennas have been developed. It is also explained the configuration of the servo motors to provide the desired angles. As a result, it is obtained an accurate steering system providing the values of elevation and azimuth for both antennas. It is only left to attach the servo motors to a mechanical structure to obtain the final rotation.
With the steering system developed within this research thesis, many kinds of am- ateur and professional aerial vehicles can be operated from medium-high distances. The system provides a complete autonomous solution, avoiding the need of any kind of human iteration, which makes the method transparent for the final user.