Visualization of three-dimensional radio wave conditions for indoor drone teleoperation support

Drone accidents can occur due to unstable radio communications, which are invisible and unpredictable to operators. Although visualization of radio conditions has been studied, 2D visualization lacks depth for aerial use and 3D visualization hinders the visibility and thus affects real-time control. In this paper, we propose a method for drone teleoperation assistance by visualizing 3D radio conditions overlaid on the drone camera image. In the method, we propose three levels of visual displays for radio conditions that have different cognitive loads and visibility. A comparative experiment with different visual interfaces is conducted to determine the optimal balance between cognitive loads and the visibility of radio conditions. The experiment revealed that the adaptive 2D ripple display provides the best balance for operating the drone, preventing it from entering areas with poor radio conditions.