Method and device for measuring four-dimensional (4d) radiation pattern of outdoor antenna based on unmanned aerial vehicle (uav)

A method for measuring a four-dimensional (4D) radiation pattern of an outdoor antenna based on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:

• calculating an optimal flight path for measurement for the UAV based on user input information of an antenna to be tested;
• flying the UAV along the optimal flight path for measurement based on an on-off state of the antenna to be tested and an on-off state of a benchmark antenna, collecting, by the UAV, a plurality of groups of data, and sending, by the UAV, the plurality of groups of data to a ground data processing unit, wherein a directional antenna of the UAV points to an antenna phase center in a flying process of the UAV, and one of the plurality of groups of data comprises signal data and corresponding global positioning system (GPS) location data collected during a flight of the UAV;
• converting, by the ground data processing unit, the corresponding GPS location data to a sampling location in a spherical coordinate system relative to the antenna phase center, and processing, by the ground data processing unit, the signal data to obtain raw data of the antenna to be tested and benchmark data of the benchmark antenna, wherein the raw data and the benchmark data each comprise a received signal intensity corresponding to a frequency at each sampling location;
• correcting, by the ground data processing unit, the raw data and the benchmark data, and calibrating corrected raw data based on corrected benchmark data to obtain discrete pattern data;
• and
• interpolating, by the ground data processing unit, the discrete pattern data to obtain spatial frequency 4D pattern data for the antenna to be tested;
• wherein the flying the UAV along the optimal flight path for measurement based on the on-off state of the antenna to be tested and the on-off state of the benchmark antenna comprises:
• turning on the antenna to be tested;
• sending, by the antenna to be tested, a first linear swept-frequency signal within a measurement frequency band;
• and flying the UAV for a first time along the optimal flight path for measurement, wherein signal data collected in a flight for the first time is measurement data of the antenna to be tested;
• turning off the antenna to be tested, and flying the UAV for a second time along the optimal flight path for measurement, wherein signal data collected in a flight for the second time is background interference measurement data;
• and
• erecting the benchmark antenna nearby the antenna to be tested;
• turning on the benchmark antenna;
• sending, by the benchmark antenna, a second linear swept-frequency signal within the measurement frequency band;
• and flying the UAV for a third time along the optimal flight path for measurement, wherein signal data collected in a flight for the third time is measurement data of the benchmark antenna.