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Air-to-Air Channel Characterization for UAV Communications at 3.4 GHz

Anıl Gürses, John Kesler, Mihail L. Sichitiu

Abstract

Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) networks require accurate Air-to-Air (A2A) channel models, but most existing work focuses on Air-to-Ground links and leaves the sub-6 GHz A2A channel poorly characterized. We present preliminary 3.4 GHz A2A channel measurements collected with a lightweight, reconfigurable, open-source channel sounder built from USRP B210 software-defined radios and a high-precision GNSS-disciplined oscillator mounted on two UAVs. Measurements were conducted at the AERPAW Lake Wheeler testbed using a spherical flight trajectory around a second drone to capture channel behavior over varying altitudes, elevation angles, and relative headings. From these data, we analyze fundamental channel properties, extract channel impulse responses, model fading behavior as a function of link geometry, and characterize fading statistics including RMS delay spread. The resulting dataset and analysis provide a more realistic basis for the design, emulation, and evaluation of physical-layer and MAC protocols for next-generation UAV communication networks.

Air-to-Air Channel Characterization for UAV Communications at 3.4 GHz

Abstract

Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) networks require accurate Air-to-Air (A2A) channel models, but most existing work focuses on Air-to-Ground links and leaves the sub-6 GHz A2A channel poorly characterized. We present preliminary 3.4 GHz A2A channel measurements collected with a lightweight, reconfigurable, open-source channel sounder built from USRP B210 software-defined radios and a high-precision GNSS-disciplined oscillator mounted on two UAVs. Measurements were conducted at the AERPAW Lake Wheeler testbed using a spherical flight trajectory around a second drone to capture channel behavior over varying altitudes, elevation angles, and relative headings. From these data, we analyze fundamental channel properties, extract channel impulse responses, model fading behavior as a function of link geometry, and characterize fading statistics including RMS delay spread. The resulting dataset and analysis provide a more realistic basis for the design, emulation, and evaluation of physical-layer and MAC protocols for next-generation UAV communication networks.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 11 sections, 6 equations, 10 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Background and System Overview
  3. Related Work
  4. System Design and Implementation
  5. Experiment Setup and Methodology
  6. Measurement Campaign
  7. Flight Pattern
  8. Results and Analysis
  9. Large-Scale Fading Analysis
  10. Small-Scale Fading Analysis
  11. Conclusion

Figures (10)

  • Figure 1: Used channel sounder system block diagram.
  • Figure 2: LAM with portable node mounted during landing.
  • Figure 3: UAVs with portable nodes mid flight.
  • Figure 4: Flight plan showing the sphere trajectory around the transmitter UAV.
  • Figure 5: Average received power as a function of altitude including heading information.
  • ...and 5 more figures