Design and Evaluation on Onboard Antenna Pointing Control System for a Wireless Relay System Using Fixed-Wing UAV

Abstract

Among several usages of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), wireless relay systems for high altitudes using fixed-wing UAVs, or high-altitude platform stations (HAPS), are some of the most promising applications. To realize the systems by making the most of advantages of the long flight duration and endurance of fixed-wing airplanes, this paper proposes an antenna pointing control system using mechanical gimbals onboard a fixed-wing UAV continuously turning midair and describes results of the blocking analysis of the antenna driving angles of the gimbal directed to a ground station, the design of the antenna pointing control system, and the evaluation of its performance. It is confirmed by the evaluation that, though the antenna pointing control accuracy is greatly influenced by the noisy antenna pointing direction command, its accuracy is greatly improved by using the highly accurate RF sensor to detect antenna pointing direction.