HeliNet: a traffic monitoring cost-effective solution integrated with the UMTS system

We present a traffic monitoring system based on the use of unmanned aerodynamic stratospheric platforms equipped with telecommunication pay-loads integrated with the UMTS system. Each platform is designed to independently detect mobiles on the ground or on the sea surface, and can perform as a collecting node for information signals transmitted by mobiles distributed on a large geographic region. In order to develop a system integrated with the future terrestrial communication infrastructure, the data are organized according to the UMTS standard; since the platform can act also as a UMTS base station to support the terrestrial infrastructure, the integration of the traffic monitoring payload with the third generation standard guarantees the cost-effectiveness of the overall system.