System and method for mitigating rain-induced crosstalk in wireless communications

A system for mitigating rain-induced crosstalk in wireless communication between an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a ground-based receiver, the system comprising:

• a dual-polarized Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna array mounted on the UAV and configured to transmit a signal on an orthogonal polarization channel;
• a rain sensor mounted on the UAV and electrically connected to a processing unit mounted on the UAV;
• an altitude sensor mounted on the UAV and electrically connected to the processing unit;
• the processing unit comprising electronic circuitry configured to:
• receive a signal from the rain sensor and receive a signal from the altitude sensor;
• calculate a measured phase shift and an attenuation for a vertical polarization channel and a horizontal polarization channel based on a rainfall intensity and a UAV height;
• and
• generate a pre-equalization parameter to compensate for differential phase shifts and the attenuation between the vertical polarization channel and the horizontal polarization channel;
• and
• an equalization circuit mounted on a circuit board with the processing unit and electrically connected to the dual-polarized MIMO antenna array, the equalization circuit is configured to:
• receive the pre-equalization parameter from the processing unit;
• apply the pre-equalization parameter to an input signal received from a communication source within the UAV before the input signal is transmitted through the dual-polarized MIMO antenna array;
• and
• adjust a phase and an amplitude of each of the vertical polarization channel and the horizontal polarization channel to counteract the rain-induced crosstalk.