1、 Report ITU-R M.2171(12/2009)Characteristics of unmanned aircraft systems and spectrum requirementsto support their safe operation in non-segregated airspaceM SeriesMobile, radiodetermination, amateurand related satellites servicesii Rep. ITU-R M.2171 Foreword The role of the Radiocommunication Sect
2、or is to ensure the rational, equitable, efficient and economical use of the radio-frequency spectrum by all radiocommunication services, including satellite services, and carry out studies without limit of frequency range on the basis of which Recommendations are adopted. The regulatory and policy
3、functions of the Radiocommunication Sector are performed by World and Regional Radiocommunication Conferences and Radiocommunication Assemblies supported by Study Groups. Policy on Intellectual Property Right (IPR) ITU-R policy on IPR is described in the Common Patent Policy for ITU-T/ITU-R/ISO/IEC
4、referenced in Annex 1 of Resolution ITU-R 1. Forms to be used for the submission of patent statements and licensing declarations by patent holders are available from http:/www.itu.int/ITU-R/go/patents/en where the Guidelines for Implementation of the Common Patent Policy for ITU-T/ITU-R/ISO/IEC and
5、the ITU-R patent information database can also be found. Series of ITU-R Reports (Also available online at http:/www.itu.int/publ/R-REP/en) Series Title BO Satellite delivery BR Recording for production, archival and play-out; film for television BS Broadcasting service (sound) BT Broadcasting servi
6、ce (television) F Fixed service M Mobile, radiodetermination, amateur and related satellite services P Radiowave propagation RA Radio astronomy RS Remote sensing systems S Fixed-satellite service SA Space applications and meteorology SF Frequency sharing and coordination between fixed-satellite and
7、fixed service systems SM Spectrum management Note: This ITU-R Report was approved in English by the Study Group under the procedure detailed in Resolution ITU-R 1. Electronic Publication Geneva, 2010 ITU 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, by any means whatsoever
8、, without written permission of ITU. Rep. ITU-R M.2171 1 REPORT ITU-R M.2171 Characteristics of unmanned aircraft systems and spectrum requirements to support their safe operation in non-segregated airspace (2009) Executive summary This report is based on two independently developed methodologies in
9、 the relevant annexes. These methodologies, even though based on different approaches, provide comparable estimated spectrum requirements. The methodologies estimating the total spectrum requirements in this report addressed terrestrial and satellite requirements in a separate manner. Deployment of
10、unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) will require access to both terrestrial and satellite spectrum. The maximum amount of spectrum required for UAS are: 34 MHz for terrestrial systems, 56 MHz for satellite systems. 1 Introduction and scope A significant increase in the application of UAS is anticipated
11、over the next decade and beyond. Seamless flight of unmanned aircraft (UA) within conventional air traffic is becoming vital for the further development of UA missions and markets. The key issue for UAS proponents is to reassure aviation authorities that UA flight within civilian air traffic will: i
12、ntegrate seamlessly into current air traffic control (ATC) procedures; maintain safety-of-flight levels. This will influence the corresponding spectrum requirements and the quality of spectrum needed to satisfy these requirements. Communications are key in UAS systems due to the remote nature of hum
13、an presence. Safety-of-flight is the driving factor when the seamless flight of UAS within civilian air traffic is at stake. In the end, safe operation of UAS relies on communications which represents a critical step in enabling UAS operations in non-segregated airspaces. The different types of comm
14、unications addressed in this report are explained below. All the information given in this paper is only used to determine the spectrum requirements provided in 5 and is not relevant for operational purposes. This report is based on two independently developed methodologies in the relevant annexes.
15、These methodologies, even though based on different approaches, provide comparable estimated spectrum requirements. 2 Rep. ITU-R M.2171 The report is structured as follows: Main part Annex 1 Throughput requirements for control and non-payload communications of a single unmanned aircraft. Annex 2 UAS
16、 deployment scenario. Annex 3 Aggregate bandwidth requirements for command and control, for support of sense and avoid and ATC relay of unmanned aircraft. Annex 4 Airspace classes, services and flight requirements. Annex 5 Acronyms. 2 General system descriptions and terminology It is important to us
17、e the same terminologies for a better understanding of the topic. This section defines the terminologies used in this document about UAS and sub-systems, categories of airspaces, required radiocommunications for safe operations of UA, and other considerations for the safe operations of UA. 2.1 Termi
18、nology Unmanned Aircraft (UA): Designates all types of aircraft remotely controlled. Unmanned Aircraft Control Station (UACS): Facilities from which a UA is controlled remotely. Control Link subsystem: Communication link between the UA and the UACS carrying telecommands (from the pilot to the UA) an
19、d telemetry (from the UA to the pilot)1. Control and non-payload communications (CNPC): The radio links, used to exchange information between the UA and UACS, that ensure safe, reliable, and effective UA flight operation. The functions of CNPC can be related to different types of information such as
20、: telecommand messages, non-payload telemetry data, support for navigation aids, air traffic control voice relay, air traffic services data relay, target track data, airborne weather radar downlink data, non-payload video downlink data. Sense and avoid (S Unmanned aircraft control station (UACS) sub
21、system; Air traffic control (ATC) communications subsystem (not necessarily relayed through the UA); Sense and avoid (S Payload subsystem (e.g. video camera ). 1It is recognized that other mechanisms, such as using an intermediate aircraft, exist to establish the beyond line of sight communications.
22、 Rep. ITU-R M.2171 3 Radio line-of-sight (LoS): is defined as the direct radio line of sight radiocommunication between the UA and UACS. Beyond radio line-of-sight (BLoS)1: is defined as the indirect radio communication between the UA and a UACS using satellite communication services. Handover opera
23、tions: is the transfer: of a direct (LoS) RF communication from one dedicated UACS to another (LoS) dedicated UACS; of a direct (LoS) to an indirect (BLoS) RF communication link or vice versa. 2.2 Classification of air spaces The aim of the WRC-12 Agenda item 1.3 is to study the spectrum requirement
24、s and possible regulatory actions needed to support the safe operation of all kinds of UA in non-segregated airspaces. Segregated Airspace is restricted airspace of defined dimensions for the exclusive use of specific users. Non-segregated Airspace is airspace other than those designated as segregat
25、ed airspace. A full list of acronyms used in this report is provided in Annex 5. The category of airspace has a pronounced impact on the data rate required for ATC communications, command and control, and particularly regarding sense and avoid which is addressed in 5 of this report. 2.3 Required rad
26、iocommunications for safe operations of UA 2.3.1 Types of radiocommunications links For safe operations of UA under LoS and BLoS conditions, three types of radiocommunications between the UA and the UACS are required, which are as follows: radiocommunications in conjunction with air traffic control
27、relay; radiocommunications for UA command and control; radiocommunications in support of the sense and avoid function. It is left to the UA system designer to combine two or more of these three radiocommunications into a common physical link. 2.3.2 Radiocommunications for air traffic control relay I
28、n non-segregated airspace a link between air traffic control and the UACS via the UA, called ATC relay, will be required to relay ATC and air-to-air communications received and transmitted by the UA. For communicating with ATC, the UA uses the same equipment as a manned aircraft. This report only co
29、nsiders the downlink bringing the ATC information from the UA to the UACS and the uplink from the UACS to the UA allowing the UACS to communicate with ATC. As these communications are critical for a safe management of the controlled airspaces, especially in terminal approach areas with high density
30、of aircraft, future ICAO standards are obviously mandatory for these kinds of communications. 4 Rep. ITU-R M.2171 2.3.3 Required radiocommunications for command and control Command and control is the typical link between the UACS and the UA. The following two ways of communications are: The uplink:
31、To send telecommands to the aircraft for flight and navigation equipment control. The downlink: To send telemetry (e.g. flight status) from the UA to the UACS. It is anticipated that in some flight conditions or in specific airspaces it could be necessary to downlink video streams. This consideratio
32、n is of a high importance for the work of the ITU-R related to Resolution 421 (WRC-07) and it must also be considered with the similar requirement that may come from the support of sense and avoid function (see 2.3.4). Such a requirement could lead to data rates of several hundreds of kbit/s per UA.
33、 In areas under the responsibility of the aeronautical authorities, it is expected that the command and control communications will have to be compliant with ICAO standards to be further specified on this function. Nevertheless, in the periods where the UA will follow a full autonomous flight, the u
34、p and down links could have very low data rates. 2.3.4 Required radiocommunications in support of “sense and avoid” Sense and avoid (S a UA may use a GEO satellite link in low density sectors and also probably in high density sectors where the total number of UA in that sector is low. The impact of
35、latency on UAS command and control systems is a prime factor when considering the safety of operations. Latency will be of the utmost importance when establishing a safety case for the operation of UA, particularly in non-segregated airspace. Current air traffic management relies heavily on voice co
36、mmunications although information via data links is being progressively implemented. Hence, new operational requirements for the future data link environment will also need to be developed. 3 Unmanned aircraft categories Exact definitions can be found in Table 33 of 2.2.5 of Annex 2 of this report.
37、In this report, the following three generic categories of UA: small, medium and large has been taken into account. 4 UAS applications Applications for UAS can be classified into two main groups. Figure 1 gives an overview about the anticipated fields of operation. Table 1 provides examples for each
38、mission type with different scenarios. Commercial applications provide services which are sold by contractors in the course of carrying out normal business operations. Governmental applications ensure public safety and security by addressing different emergencies, issues of public interest, and incl
39、ude scientific matters. 6 Rep. ITU-R M.2171 FIGURE 1 UAS applications Report M.2171-01ABCDE F G HCommercial GovernmentalScientificapp.SecurityandpublicinterestHumani-tariananddistresssupportAgricult.servicesCommsinfra-structureMoni-toringTrans-portElectr.newsgather-ingUAS applicationsTABLE 1 Example
40、s Mission type Example description Movie making, sports games, popular events like concerts. Cargo planes with reduced man power (one-man-cockpit). Inspections for industries, e.g. oil fields, oil platforms, oil pipelines, power line, rail line. Provision of airborne relays for cell phones in the fu
41、ture. Commercial agricultural services like crop dusting. Earth science and geographic missions (e.g. mapping and surveying, aerial photography) biological, environmental missions (e.g. animal monitoring, crop spraying, volcano monitoring, biomass surveys, livestock monitoring, tree fertilization).
42、Coast line inspection, preventive border surveillance, drug control, anti-terrorism operations, strike events, search and rescue of people in distress, and national security. Public interest missions like remote weather monitoring, avalanche prediction and control, hurricane monitoring, forest fires
43、 prevention surveillance, insurance claims during disasters and traffic surveillance. Famine relief, medical support, aid delivery. Search and rescue activities. Rep. ITU-R M.2171 7 5 Spectrum requirements for UAS communications The overall data rate for a single UAS is expected to be a function of:
44、 The ATC-UAS communications exchange requirements which in turn are a direct function of the aforementioned categories of airspace. The UAS command and control requirements which in turn are a direct function of UAS systems design and engineering considerations pertaining to the UAS degree of system
45、s automation/autonomy. The UAS support for sense and avoid requirements which in turn are a function of the category of airspace, the terrain environment (i.e. UAS are at all times responsible for sensing and avoiding terrain when operating at low altitudes) and weather (i.e., unless other suitable
46、mitigation is applied, UAS must be able to sense and avoid areas of adverse weather). Furthermore, insofar as data rates are concerned, it becomes possible to consider flight under instrument flight rules (IFR), visual flight rules (VFR) and segregated flight. 5.1 Single UA throughput needs 5.1.1 Me
47、thodology 1 Tables 2 and 3 are based on the results of the Annex 1. TABLE 2 Terrestrial estimated non-payload throughput requirements of a single UA in bit/s Command and control ATC relay Sense and void Video/weather radar Proposal: airport surface 12 167 2 4 855 9 120 270 000 30 997 Proposal: low a
48、ltitude 12 167 2 4 855 9 120 270 000(1)30 997 Proposal: medium altitude 5 062 2 4 855 9 120 27 000 23 892 Proposal: high altitude 5 062 2 4 855 9 120 27 000 23 892 (1)A factor representing a percentage value of video and weather radar data rate used at the low altitude could apply and is taken into
49、account in Annex 3. TABLE 3 Satellite estimated non-payload throughput requirements of a single UA in bit/s Command and control ATC relay Sense and avoid Video/weather radar Proposal: medium altitude 5 062 2 4 855 9 120 27 000 23 892 Proposal: high altitude 5 062 2 4 855 9 120 27 000 23 892 8 Rep. ITU-R M.2171 5.1.2 Methodology 2 Table 4 is based on the results of the Annex 1. TABLE 4 Maximum non-payload throughput requirements* of a single UA (bit/s) UA type Control and NavAids ATC relay Non-payload surveillance data(1) Larg
