On the Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for antenna and coverage diagnostics in mobile networks
Subject:
drones
antenas
emisiones electromagnétnicas
RTK
medida antenas
UAV
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Editorial:
The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
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Abstract:
The capability of in-situ antenna measurement and diagnostics using a compact low-cost unmanned aerial system is presented. An onboard power sensor collects amplitude-only measurements, which are processed by means of an iterative phase retrieval technique. This technique allows recovering an equivalent currents distribution, which characterizes the antenna under test (AUT). These currents can be used for antenna diagnostics as well as to evaluate the field radiated by the AUT. In the field of mobile networks, the proposed system is of interest for rapid assessment of the antenna’s operational conditions, providing radioelectric coverage within the mobile network cells and allowing the evaluation of antenna failures, such as incorrect tilt or beamforming/feeding network malfunction. A proof of concept of the system is conducted for testing a commercial base transceiver station antenna under normal and malfunctioning operation conditions, discussing the extension of the system to allow measurements at millimeter-wave frequency bands.
The capability of in-situ antenna measurement and diagnostics using a compact low-cost unmanned aerial system is presented. An onboard power sensor collects amplitude-only measurements, which are processed by means of an iterative phase retrieval technique. This technique allows recovering an equivalent currents distribution, which characterizes the antenna under test (AUT). These currents can be used for antenna diagnostics as well as to evaluate the field radiated by the AUT. In the field of mobile networks, the proposed system is of interest for rapid assessment of the antenna’s operational conditions, providing radioelectric coverage within the mobile network cells and allowing the evaluation of antenna failures, such as incorrect tilt or beamforming/feeding network malfunction. A proof of concept of the system is conducted for testing a commercial base transceiver station antenna under normal and malfunctioning operation conditions, discussing the extension of the system to allow measurements at millimeter-wave frequency bands.
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This work has been supported by the “Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad. Gobierno de España” of Spain/FEDER under project TEC2014-54005-P (MIRIIEM), TEC2014-55290-JIN (PORTEMVISION), and grant FPU15/06341; and by the Principado de Asturias, through the Plan de Ciencia, Tecnología e lnnovación 2013-2017 under project GRUPIN14-114.
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