Performing QoS measurements in UAV field trials with 5G-advanced communications at various altitudes

Although the fifth-generation (5G) network is a game changer for enabling autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), the link reliability between base stations and UAVs still poses a challenging hurdle during flight. Therefore, this work conducts a field trial for the Quality of Service (QoS) parameters of the 5G network. Latency, throughput, handover attempts, and other performance indicators are investigated at altitudes of 50, 72, 88, and 110 m, respectively. The proposed measurements examine the UAV-to-ground connections through a multi-faceted approach that combines both empirical and simulation results. For this reason, the XCAL tool is attached to the UAV to measure key performance indicators (KPIs) of surrounding networks and analyze the collected data later. This insightful evaluation of network parameters can contribute to achieving better planning for UAV missions and applications.