Autonomous Navigation Control of UAV Using Wireless Smart Meter Devices

Abstract

In preparation for the upcoming home delivery services that rely on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), we developed a new multi-hop radio network that is laid over a smart meter network transferring electric energy information only. In this network, a UAV follows, for navigation purposes, the topology of a virtual network overlaid on the physical smart meter network. We established a service management control method which does not rely on image analysis or map information processing, i.e. processes that consume precious power resources of the UAV. Instead, navigation is based on the routing technology. The current distance between the UAV and a node of the smart meter network is measured by means of the radio transmission loss value, therefore determining the position of the UAV. A two-layer network model has been proposed. One layer consists of a network of nodes in a residential area with scattered buildings – a location that is safer to navigate – while the other is an access network of nodes in a densely populated area. Then, we proposed methods to determine the direction of movement towards the next hop node on the data-link layer and the end node on the network layer, which is the target destination. We implemented a software-based test system and verified the effectiveness of the proposed methods.