TY - GEN
T1 - An Integrated Simulation Platform for the Analysis of UAS BVLOS Operations Supported by 4G/5G Communications
AU - Zuo, Rue
AU - Wang, Zixi
AU - Luo, Chen
AU - Caicedo, Carlos
AU - Gursoy, M. Cenk
AU - Qiu, Qinru
AU - Solomon, Adrian
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 IEEE.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Command and control (C2) data links over cellular networks is envisioned to be a reliable communications modality for various types of missions for Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). The planning of UAS traffic and the provision of cellular communication resources are cross-coupled decisions that should be analyzed together to understand the quality of service such a modality can provide that meets business needs. The key to effective planning is the accurate estimation of communication link quality and the resource usage for a given air traffic requirement. In this work, a simulation and modelling framework is developed that integrates two open-source simulation platforms, Repast Simphony and ns-3, to generate UAS missions over different geographical areas and simulates the provision of 4G/5G cellular network connectivity to support their C2 and mission data links. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first simulator that co-simulates air traffic and cellular network communications for UAS while leveraging standardized 3GPP propagation models and incorporating detailed management of communication channels (i.e., resource blocks) at the cellular base station level. Three experiments were executed to demonstrate how the integrated simulation platform can be used to provide guidelines in communication resource allocation, air traffic management, and mission safety management in beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations.
AB - Command and control (C2) data links over cellular networks is envisioned to be a reliable communications modality for various types of missions for Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). The planning of UAS traffic and the provision of cellular communication resources are cross-coupled decisions that should be analyzed together to understand the quality of service such a modality can provide that meets business needs. The key to effective planning is the accurate estimation of communication link quality and the resource usage for a given air traffic requirement. In this work, a simulation and modelling framework is developed that integrates two open-source simulation platforms, Repast Simphony and ns-3, to generate UAS missions over different geographical areas and simulates the provision of 4G/5G cellular network connectivity to support their C2 and mission data links. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first simulator that co-simulates air traffic and cellular network communications for UAS while leveraging standardized 3GPP propagation models and incorporating detailed management of communication channels (i.e., resource blocks) at the cellular base station level. Three experiments were executed to demonstrate how the integrated simulation platform can be used to provide guidelines in communication resource allocation, air traffic management, and mission safety management in beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85130684793&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85130684793&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/ICNS54818.2022.9771502
DO - 10.1109/ICNS54818.2022.9771502
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85130684793
T3 - Integrated Communications, Navigation and Surveillance Conference, ICNS
BT - 2022 Integrated Communication, Navigation and Surveillance Conference, ICNS 2022
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 2022 Integrated Communication, Navigation and Surveillance Conference, ICNS 2022
Y2 - 5 April 2022 through 7 April 2022
ER -