Feasibility study of GSM network for tracking low altitude helicopter

Abstract

Low altitude helicopters are difficult to track due to the limitation of radar horizon, which may cause severe flight hazard. Thus, tracking of helicopter in real time is vital. There are various ways to track low flying helicopter, such as aircraft to ground data link, satellite phone etc. But the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network has not been reported to be utilized yet to transmit the position information obtained from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver. A study was carried out to check the coverage of GSM network in low altitude for the feasibility of sending location information and the report has been presented in this paper. A GPS and GSM modem was programmed to log the time, location, altitude and signal strength. Two missions were carried out at 1000 feet with the device. Logged data were later on downloaded in a computer to analyze the low altitude coverage of the GSM network. The results show that the signal quality of the GSM was available for more than 75% of the time for sending SMS. Thus, it is evident from the study report that the low altitude helicopter can be tracked using GSM network.