UAV Communications and Channel Modeling

As unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) deployment is shifting from military to civilian sectors, and in particular as a mean of facilitating more flexible and versatile wireless communications, the UAV channels that were previously not well understood are attracting increasing research and investigation. As the key component facilitates UAV communications, UAV channel characteristics and modeling are of critical importance to the designed UAV system to achieve satisfactory performance. In this chapter, the overview of the UAV communication is presented, including its application and evolution from fifth generation (5G) to sixth generation (6G). Then, the overview of propagation channel modeling is given, including the signal propagation mechanism in channels and the classification of channel modeling methods. Next, the propagation characteristics of UAV communication are analyzed and summarized. Finally, the organization of the monograph is discussed.