Performance measurement of 802.11a wireless links from UAV to ground nodes with various antenna orientations

Chen Mou Cheng*, Pai Hsiang Hsiao, H. T. Kung, Dario Vlah

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

83 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report measured performance of 802.11a wireless links from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to ground stations. In a set of field experiments, we record the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and measure the raw link-layer throughput for various antenna orientations, communication distances and ground-station elevations. By comparing the performance of 32 simultaneous pairs of UAV and ground station configurations, we are able to conclude that, in order to achieve the highest throughput under a typical flyover UAV flight path, both the UAV and the ground station should use omni-directional dipole (as opposed to high-gain, narrow-beam) antennas positioned horizontally, with their respective antenna null pointing to a direction perpendicular to the UAVs flight path. In addition, a moderate amount of elevation of the ground stations can also improve performance significantly.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings - 15th International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks 2006, ICCCN 2006
Pages303-308
Number of pages6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2006
Externally publishedYes
Event15th International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks 2006, ICCCN 2006 - Arlington, VA, United States
Duration: 09 10 200611 10 2006

Publication series

NameProceedings - International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks, ICCCN
ISSN (Print)1095-2055

Conference

Conference15th International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks 2006, ICCCN 2006
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityArlington, VA
Period09/10/0611/10/06

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