How does wireless data transfer speed impact UAV navigation?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the impact of wireless data transfer speed on UAV navigation, emphasizing that radio waves propagate at the speed of light, approximately 3e8 m/s. While this speed is fast, significant delays can occur over long distances, such as 10 microseconds for a 1.5 km distance. The conversation highlights that processing delays and bandwidth transmission times are critical factors in UAV navigation, particularly as flight velocities change. The need for autonomy in space probes due to communication delays is also noted as a relevant consideration.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of wireless communication principles
  • Knowledge of UAV navigation systems
  • Familiarity with digital signal processing (DSP)
  • Basic concepts of latency and bandwidth in data transmission
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the effects of latency on UAV control systems
  • Explore advanced digital signal processing techniques for real-time data handling
  • Learn about autonomous navigation algorithms for UAVs
  • Investigate wireless communication technologies used in UAVs, such as 5G and LoRa
USEFUL FOR

Engineers and developers working on UAV systems, researchers in wireless communication, and professionals involved in autonomous navigation technologies will benefit from this discussion.

jakesee
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Hi,

I am working on a software control system with visual terrain rendering for UAV navigation.

I am new at this, and I have some issues not clear with regard to signals.

Can anyone tell me if all wireless datalinks (at least for existing tech) are at speed of light?
And if it is true, then the only delay factor to consider is the processing/frame rate of the computer and bandwidth transmission time?
 
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Yes, the radio waves in a wireless system always propagate at the speed of light (radio waves ARE light, just at a much lower frequency than visual light).
However, this does not mean that this is not a significant delay factor at large distances. The speed of light is high, but it is not THAT high if you consider the speed of a modern DSP. c is 3e8 m/s; meaning it takes 10 microseconds for a signal to travel to and from a UAV that is 1.5km away; this can certainly be significant.

Btw; this is the reason why probes and robots that are sent to other planets by NASA and co need to be somewhat autonomous; it is literally impossible to control them directly due to the time delay; and this will always be true regardless of how fast the computers are.
 
Thanks for your reply.

I totally forgot about the distance issue when I posted. Thanks for reminding.
Also, i think now the problem becomes even more difficult because of varying distancings considering the flight velocity of UAV... sigh.

Thanks.
 

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