Communications Channel Characteristics Due to Aircraft Body Blockage in Urban Air Mobility

Abstract

In urban air mobility, a large piece of conductive airframe with extended carbon fiber blades is an obstructing factor for aircraft-ground communications. In this letter, we conduct outdoor measurements of propagation channels on a giant multi-rotor drone. Channel impulse response and received power level are recorded and utilized for investigation, from which root mean square delay spread and frame outage probability are derived. These measurement results demonstrate that high speed rotating propellers and the airframe of the urban air mobility (UAM) have obvious negative impact on the communications link. The position of antennas should be chosen properly to reduce the blocking effect.