US 2017/0013413 A1 · OPERATING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES TO MAINTAIN OR CREATE WIRELESS NETWORKS

Abstract

Embodiments herein use a real-time system to conduct a line of sight (LOS) survey between radio sites. The system includes a drone controlled by a UAV LOS System (ULS) server to gather information regarding the LOS path between the radio sites. In one embodiment, the ULS server instructs the UAV to travel a LOS path between a first location and a second location, and determine a Fresnel radius at one or more defined locations along the LOS path between the first location and the second location. The ULS server determines a Fresnel zone between the first location and second location based in part on the determined Fresnel radius for each of the defined locations along the LOS path. The ULS server evaluates the Fresnel zone to determine if the LOS path can support a LOS wireless communication link.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method, comprising:

instructing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to travel a line of sight (LOS) path between a first location and a second location;
instructing the UAV to determine a Fresnel radius at one or more defined locations along the LOS path between the first location and the second location;
determining a Fresnel zone between the first location and second location based in part on the determined Fresnel radius for each of the defined locations along the LOS path;
and
evaluating the Fresnel zone to determine if the LOS path can support a LOS wireless communication link.

2 more elements

A communication system, comprising:

an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV);
and
at least one computing processor configured to:
instruct the UAV to travel a line of sight (LOS) path between a first location and a second location;
instruct the UAV to determine a Fresnel radius at one or more defined locations along the LOS path between the first location and the second location;
determine a Fresnel zone between the first location and second location based in part on the determined Fresnel radius for each of the defined locations along the LOS path;
and
evaluate the Fresnel zone to determine if the LOS path can support a LOS wireless communication link.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

15/205,792Filed 8 Jul 2016

Priority

10 Jul 2015

Published

12 Jan 2017

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification18 codes

H04W 4/40
Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes: for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
G05D 1/0011
Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots: associated with a remote…
H04B 7/18506
Airborne stations: communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service
H04L 43/16
Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks: threshold monitoring

Operating unmanned aerial vehicles to maintain or create wireless networks

Life of this patent

Operating unmanned aerial vehicles to maintain or create wireless networks

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20