Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) antenna tracking system is an electromechanical component designed to track and steer the signal beams from the ground control station (GCS) to the airborne platform for optimum signal alignment. In a tracking system, an antenna continuously tracks a moving target and records their position. A UAV tracking antenna system is susceptible to signal loss if omnidirectional antenna is deployed as the preferred design. Therefore, to achieve longer UAV distance communication, there is a need for directional high gain antenna. From design principle, directional antennas are known to focus their signal energy in a particular direction viewed from their radiation pattern which is concentrated in a particular azimuth direction. Unfortunately, a directional antenna is limited by angle, thus, it must always be directed to the target. The other limitation of a UAV mechanical beam steering system is that the system is expensive to maintain and with low reliability. To solve this problem, we are proposing the use of MIMO technology as a readily available technology for UAV beyond line of sight technology. Although UAV antenna tracking is domiciled in the mechanical beam steering arrangement, this study shows that this native technology could be usurped by MIMO beam forming.
Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are considered as evolving technology due to the diversity and feasibility of their applications. Generally, UAS are controlled by a ground operator in a ground control station (GCS). GCS can be used for several remote applications for unmanned vehicles; however, for the purpose of this review, GCS applications would be limited to its application on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). Such stations are made up of basic components consisting of commercial-off-the-shelf components and low-cost equipment depending on the sophistication of the UAV. This requires that as UAVs evolve, GCS are equally upgraded to meet with the technological feet. This paper discusses the challenges associated with GCS in ensuring safe operations of the UAV. Hence, a brief background of GCS, its architecture, applications, inherent challenges and the proposed solutions are presented.
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