Abstract
A general empirical path loss (PL) model for air-to-ground (A2G) millimeter-wave (mmWave) channels is proposed in this paper. Different from existing PL models, the new model takes the height factor of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into account, and divides the propagation conditions into three cases (i.e., line-of-sight, reflection, and diffraction). A map-based deterministic PL prediction algorithm based on the ray-tracing (RT) technique is developed, and is used to generate numerous PL data for different cases. By fitting and analyzing the PL data under different scenarios and UAV heights, altitude-dependent model parameters are provided. Simulation results show that the proposed model can be effectively used to predict PL values for both low- and high-altitude cases. The prediction results of the proposed model better match the RT-based calculation results than those of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) model and the close-in model. The standard deviation of the PL is also much smaller. Moreover, the new model is flexible and can be extended to other A2G scenarios (not included in this paper) by adjusting the parameters according to the simulation or measurement data.
摘要
提出一种通用的空地毫米波传播损耗模型. 与现有传播损耗模型不同, 本模型考虑了无人机高度因素, 并将传播类型分为3种情况 (视距、 反射和绕射). 同时, 提出一种结合射线追踪技术和数字地图的确定性传播损耗预测算法, 并用于不同场景下生成大量数据. 通过拟合分析不同场景和无人机高度下的传播损耗数据, 得到与高度相关的模型参数. 仿真结果表明, 所提模型在低空和高空情况下都能准确预测传播损耗. 相比3GPP模型和CI模型, 所提模型的预测结果与射线追踪计算结果更加一致, 标准偏差更小. 此外, 本文模型能通过仿真或测量数据进行参数调整, 从而扩展到其他空地通信场景.
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Qiuming ZHU and Xiaomin CHEN designed the research. Mengtian YAO and Fei BAI ran the simulations and processed the data. Qiuming ZHU and Mengtian YAO drafted the manuscript. Xiaomin CHEN and Weizhi ZHONG helped organize the manuscript. Boyu HUA, Xiaomin CHEN, and Xijuan YE helped revise the paper. Qiuming ZHU, Mengtian YAO, Fei BAI, and Xiaomin CHEN finalized the paper.
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Qiuming ZHU, Mengtian YAO, Fei BAI, Xiaomin CHEN, Weizhi ZHONG, Boyu HUA, and Xijuan YE declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Project supported by the National Key Scientific Instrument and Equipment Development Project, China (No. 61827801), the Aeronautical Science Foundation of China (No. 201901052001), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China (Nos. NS2020026 and NS2020063), the State Key Laboratory of Integrated Services Network Funding, China (No. ISN22-11), and the Open Foundation for Graduate Innovation of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA), China (No. KFJJ20200416)
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Zhu, Q., Yao, M., Bai, F. et al. A general altitude-dependent path loss model for UAV-to-ground millimeter-wave communications. Front Inform Technol Electron Eng 22, 767–776 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1631/FITEE.2000497
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1631/FITEE.2000497
Keywords
- Path loss
- UAV-to-ground channel
- Millimeter-wave (mmWave) communication channel
- Ray-tracing
- Altitude-dependent