Communication architecture for UAVs for emergency response scenarios

This Master Thesis contributes to Aerowatch's efforts by designing and testing a drone communication architecture for emergency scenarios, with a specific focus on wildfire prevention and rapid response. Using an experimental design methodology to develop the project. Based on a brief market an...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Zagorodniuc, Alexandru
Tipo de recurso: tesis de maestría
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/442685
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/442685
Access Level:acceso embargado
Palabra clave:Drone aircraft
Forest fires--Prevention and control
Antennas (Electronics) (optional)
Communication
DMW
Network Architecture
Mesh
UAV
BVLOS.
Avions no tripulats
Incendis forestals — Prevenció
Antenes (Electrònica)
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Aeronàutica i espai
Descripción
Sumario:This Master Thesis contributes to Aerowatch's efforts by designing and testing a drone communication architecture for emergency scenarios, with a specific focus on wildfire prevention and rapid response. Using an experimental design methodology to develop the project. Based on a brief market analysis, a mesh communication radio is selected as the most suitable option for the proposed architecture. Carrying out preliminary ground evaluations of the chosen device to test its functionality, leading to configuration modifications aimed at enhancing its performance during subsequent flight trials. For the flights test, a hexacopter drone is assembled to be used as a prototype. Custom-designed 3D-printed mounts were created to fix the mesh radios and their antennas to the drone. Furthermore, a prototype system for fire extinguishing was designed and implemented. The effectiveness of the chosen mesh radios is tested under real flight conditions, which encompass both short-range operations that fall within visual line of sight (VLOS) and long-range missions that operate beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). These trials evaluate the capabilities of the radios, followed by additional configuration efforts to improve their communication effectiveness. Finally, a comprehensive analysis was carried out to assess the suitability of the selected communication radios, by considering factors such as communication range, the latency, packets loss percentage and their throughput.