The UAV Low Elevation Propagation Channel in Urban Areas: Statistical Analysis and Time-Series Generator

In this paper we analyze the fading statistics of the link between a remotely controlled flying platform or an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and a ground receive station in an urban area. This link has a very specific geometry which is somewhere in between that of the purely terrestrial case (e.g., a macro-cell) and that of the land mobile satellite (LMS) systems. We have performed a model-based statistical analysis using unique experimental data, and following well-known models for LMS and terrestrial links with the conclusion that the Loo [1] (Rice+log-normal) model is the most suitable starting point for developing the wanted model; then several modifications have been introduced achieve a better match. Finally, we developed a narrowband time-series generator capable of reproducing the observed signal dynamics.