Modeling and Performance Optimization of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Channels in Urban Emergency Management

• Main Authors: Bing Han, Danyang Qin, Ping Zheng, Lin Ma, Merhawit Berhane Teklu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-07-01
• Series: ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information
• Subjects: emergency management; channel model; shadow fading; beamforming; Doppler effect
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/10/7/478

With the development of smart cities, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for interactive information exchange between air and ground can provide effective support for the deployment of emergency work. However, the existing UAV air-to-ground channels often use a single channel model. Considering that the density and distribution of obstructions on information transmission paths at different heights are different, only using a single channel model greatly affects the reliability of communications. Aiming at addressing the different channel characteristics of air-to-ground channels at different heights, a height-based adaptive SUUL-SULA channel model is proposed in this paper. Firstly, in the ultra-low altitude environment, the influence of large-scale fading and small-scale fading on the envelope of the received signal is discussed based on the classic LOO model, and the probability density function and bit error rate model of the received signal are derived. Secondly, a SULA channel model based on Jakes’ model is proposed in the low-altitude environment. The uniform circular array beamforming technology is adopted to realize the design of the Doppler frequency shift compensation algorithm. Finally, the simulation results show that the SUUL-SULA model effectively reduces the bit error rate of the system and improves the reliability of communication. Therefore, this model can provide effective physical support for the application of UAV in smart city emergency management.