Development of communication links between unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and UAV traffic management (UTM) systems via the cellular network

• Main Author: Holmberg, Carl Oswald
• Other Authors: Low Kin Huat
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/67672
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Increased usage of drones by the military in recent years, have sparked a booming interest in using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for commercial applications. The usefulness of such vehicles span many areas, as it advantageously aids in areas ranging from, agricultural monitoring, surveillance and even to goods delivery. This allows for cost savings in commercial applications and may even aid to mitigate risks at work that would otherwise be hazardous to people. Furthermore, rapid advancement in manufacturing technologies has enabled the availability of relatively cheaper models to be made to the public for recreational use. With little frameworks currently in place to keep the usage of drones regulated, concerns has been raised amongst Governments and organisations worldwide. Therefore, In order to accommodate the prospective growth of the UAV usage in the future, regulations must be kept up to pace with technology in order to govern its usage and to keep the UAVs safely separated from other air traffic and public spaces. This research paper seeks to explore the possibility of integrating UAVs into the airspace through the use of the mobile networks as a tool of communication between UAVs and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Traffic Management (UTM) systems. This will be investigated and reviewed taking Singapore’s present cellular network infrastructure and airspace into context. To further showcase this concept, a mobile communication link between UAVs and UTM stations was successfully developed. This link developed, was made to display UAV tracking capabilities in real-time via the internet, by leveraging on the UAV’s connection with a cloud database over the mobile data networks. The capability of mobile networks to solve some of the issues faced with UAV integration into the common airspace, was evaluated and thus found to be feasible.