Evaluation of Radio Interference Areas by Flight Path and Antenna Directivity of UAV in Urban Area

The market for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) services is increasing yearly. A law revision in 2022 in Japan will lift the ban on blind flights in urban areas, and parcel delivery services are expected to begin in the future. When UAVs fly automatically, they must report their location and other information periodically, and wireless communication is essential. However, when a UAV in the sky communicates, it is more likely to propagate than when communicating on the ground, and radio interference to various devices on the ground is a problem. This report evaluates the amount of radio interference caused by the antenna directivity and altitude of UAVs during the operation of a delivery service in an urban area. I combined ray-trace propagation simulations with a 3D urban model provided by PLATEAU to simulate a real environment. A 1 km square Nishi-Shinjuku area in Tokyo, Japan, was used, and UAVs were assumed to move along the main street. The simulation revealed that the radio interference area can be narrowed by using a directional antenna on the UAV and setting the flight path at a low altitude.