Preliminary design of UAV recovery system utilizing GSM network

Communication between an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and its ground station is an important factor for the UAV. A UAV can fly safely and come back to the base only if a good communication link between the UAV and ground control station is established. Outcomes are dependent on the quality of the communication link. In fact, there are some cases where the UAV crashes due to loss of communication. Therefore, a system is needed that can be used in emergency situations due to loss of communication link. The system is called a UAV recovery system, and it works on the GSM network to ensure system availability. This paper describes a preliminary design process of the UAV recovery system. The preliminary design process started with a study of the literature, where material on similar topics could be evaluated and the best option chosen. As a result, it was possible to determine the most appropriate design requirement and objective (DR&O). The DR&O is made based on the existing UAV specification owned by Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space. Thus, based on the DR&O, the design process of UAV recovery systems can be conducted. The result shows that the design of UAV recovery systems complies with the DR&O.