Designing and implementing future aerial communication networks

Providing "connectivity from the sky" is the new innovative trend in wireless communications. High and low altitude platforms, drones, aircrafts, and airships are being considered as candidates for deploying wireless communications complementing the terrestrial communication infrastructure...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE communications magazine 2016-05, Vol.54 (5), p.26-34
Main Authors: Chandrasekharan, Sathyanarayanan, Wirth, Thomas, Allsopp, Sandy, Gomez, Karina, Al-Hourani, Akram, Kandeepan, Sithamparanathan, Rasheed, Tinku, Goratti, Leonardo, Reynaud, Laurent, Grace, David, Bucaille, Isabelle
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Ad hoc networks
Aerials
Aircraft
Base stations
Communication system security
Drones
Emergencies
Networks
Onboard
Payloads
Platforms
Sky
Unmanned aerial vehicles
Wireless communication
Wireless communications
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Providing "connectivity from the sky" is the new innovative trend in wireless communications. High and low altitude platforms, drones, aircrafts, and airships are being considered as candidates for deploying wireless communications complementing the terrestrial communication infrastructure. In this article we report the detailed account of the design and implementation challenges of an aerial network consisting of LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) base stations. In particular, we review achievements and innovations harnessed by an aerial network composed of Helikite platforms. Helikites can be raised in the sky to bring Internet access during special events and in the aftermath of an emergency. The trial phase of the system mounting LTE-A technology onboard Helikites to serve users on the ground yielded very encouraging results, and showed that such a system could offer a longer lasting solution, provided that inefficiency in powering the radio frequency equipment in the Helikite can be overcome.
ISSN:0163-6804
1558-1896
DOI:10.1109/MCOM.2016.7470932