Open-Source Software Radio Performance for Cellular Communications Research with UAV Users

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is both an enabler and user of future wireless networks. It experiences different radio propagation conditions than a radio node on the ground. Therefore, it is important to experimentally investigate the performance of cellular communications and networking innovations while serving aerial radios. In this paper, we examine the performance of low-altitude aerial nodes that are served by an open-source software-defined radio (SDR) network. We provide a detailed description of the open-source hardware and software components needed for establishing an SDR-based broadband wireless link, and present radio performance measurements. Our results with a standard compliant software-defined 4G system show that an advanced wireless testbed for innovation in UAV communications and networking is feasible with commercial off-the shelf hardware, open-source software, and low-power signaling.