Communication architectures capable of ensuring service continuity in complex operational environments

Both 4G and 5G cellular networks have become enabling technologies for UAV operations. They complement traditional radio links by providing broad geographical availability, mobility support, and the ability to transport telemetry and sensor data. However, as these networks expand in coverage and complexity, ensuring communications continuity becomes an increasingly relevant challenge.

In Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) missions, the aircraft operates beyond the pilot's visual range. In these scenarios, UAVs may fly over large areas with limited or no network coverage. The degradation or loss of supervision and data transmission links therefore represents an operational risk that must be mitigated through resilient communications architectures.

A promising solution to address this challenge seems to be hybrid architectures integrating Terrestrial Networks (TN) and Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN). In particular, the standardization of NB-IoT over NTN by 3GPP release 17 release would make it possible to extend coverage beyond the limitations of conventional cellular networks.

Concept of hybrid TN-NTN communications for UAV BVLOS operations (AI generated)

A system capable of automatically switching between terrestrial IoT connectivity (LTE-M or NB-IoT) and satellite connectivity based on NB-IoT NTN would provide a low-power solution integrated into the 5G standard. This would enable resilient and continuous communications, maintaining the availability of aircraft and mission status information even when the UAV enters areas with degraded or unavailable terrestrial coverage.

Apparently, one possible approach is to decouple the supervisory channel from the primary operational link. This could increase mission resilience by maintaining an independent communication path for transmitting essential aircraft and mission status information, even when the primary link is degraded or unavailable.

This approach appears to contribute to the development of more resilient connectivity architectures for unmanned systems, particularly in BVLOS operations and other scenarios where continuous terrestrial coverage cannot be guaranteed.

Source: "Supervisión resiliente de UAVs mediante conectividad híbrida terrestre-satelital".