Location-aware Beamforming for MIMO-enabled UAV Communications: An Unknown Input Observer Approach

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel UAV beamforming method using unknown input observers to improve spatial estimation and communication reliability in challenging environments.

Contribution

It presents a new delay tolerant observer-based spatial estimation algorithm for UAV beamforming that handles uncertainties and channel blockages effectively.

Findings

Accurately predicts UAV positions despite wind gusts and uncertainties.

Reduces joint target detection and communication complexity.

Performs reliably under channel blockage and interference.

Abstract

Numerous communications and networking challenges prevent deploying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in extreme environments where the existing wireless technologies are mainly ground-focused; and, as a consequence, the air-to-air channel for UAVs is not fully covered. In this paper, a novel spatial estimation for beamforming is proposed to address UAV-based joint sensing and communications (JSC). The proposed spatial estimation algorithm relies on using a delay tolerant observer-based predictor, which can accurately predict the positions of the target UAVs in the presence of uncertainties due to factors such as wind gust. The solution, which uses discrete-time unknown input observers (UIOs), reduces the joint target detection and communication complication notably by operating on the same device and performs reliably in the presence of channel blockage and interference. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated using simulation results.