Air to ground sensor data distribution using IEEE802.11N Wi-Fi network

This article presents a concept for using an IEEE802.11n network to distribute sensor data from a UAV to ground control stations. Low video stream delays are ensured by dynamic sensor data resizing and JPEG encoding for every single frame with variable quality. The use of WMM certified hardware and different priorities for each stream allow a parallel and managed distribution of different sensor data. Flight tests were conducted with a fixed wing UAV platform based on an electric RC-glider and a ground control station equipped with a tracking antenna platform. Performance measurements show that the proposed concept is able to satisfy the sensor data distribution requirements of different UAV applications. Our approach provides an affordable way to realize manageable digital sensor data distribution for small UAV platforms, even in a highly mobile air to ground scenario, where the TCP throughput is poor and highly fluctuating.