5G-Connected UAV Handovers in Agricultural Environments: Palm Oil Plantations Insights

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have become a focal point in various industries like agriculture, emergency response, and package delivery. The utilization of cellular networks for operating UAVs holds great potential in overcoming the challenges of remote navigation and long-distance flight, enabling UAVs to operate beyond the operator's line of sight. In agricultural settings, like oil palm farms, implementing fifth-generation (5G) cellular technology in UAVs promises efficiency, sustainability, and better yields through real-time surveillance, early disease detection, precise pesticide application, yield calculation, and environmental impact assessment are examples of these. Although there is a lot of potential for integrating 5G cellular connectivity with UAVs, there are certain practical difficulties, particularly with regard to handovers. This work explores the feasibility of handovers for 5G-connected UAVs in palm oil plantations. Radio Mobile simulations in these areas will analyze signal strengths between UAVs and base stations (BSs) across various heights and distances. Results will guide the establishment of optimal parameters for high-performing 5G-connected UAVs in such settings.