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Unmanned aerial vehicle communication using distributed antenna placement and beam pointing

  • US 10,187,140 B2
  • Filed: 01/29/2015
  • Issued: 01/22/2019
  • Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2014
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. An automated method performed by a first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for determining a beam direction for communication with a second UAV, the method comprising:

  • dividing a space around the first UAV into a plurality of sub-regions, the plurality of sub-regions extending out radially from the first UAV, wherein each sub-region in the plurality of sub-regions is associated with one of at least one antenna sub-apertures of the first UAV that generates an antenna beam that adequately covers the sub-region;

    selecting the beam direction by iteratively performing, until the first UAV determines a specified criteria is met by a signal received from the second UAV;

    selecting a selected sub-region from among the plurality of sub-regions;

    pointing a signal toward the selected sub-region using the one of the at least one antenna sub-apertures associated with the selected sub-region;

    determining whether a signal is received from another UAV while the signal is pointed to the selected sub-region; and

    determining whether the signal received from the other UAV meets the specified criteria.

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