Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for the Monitoring of Telecommunication Towers from the Engineering Approach

• DOI: 10.3390/drones9040308
• Publication Date: 2025-04-16T08:05:31Z
• Authors: Raimondas Pomarnacki; Domantas Bručas; Tomas Jačionis; Darius Plonis

In this article, the authors conducted electromagnetic radiation research on telecommunication base stations using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Until now, UAVs have only been capable of performing visual inspections, without investigating electrical parameters. The authors suggest a method that involves using a spectrum analyzer and an automated flight with a predefined trajectory around the base stations to conduct electromagnetic radiation research, which is used by telecommunication regulatory organizations. Two different types of UAVs were used in this work: a drone and a fixed-wing aircraft, each with distinct characteristics. The authors successfully designed and tested both types of UAVs under real conditions and performed measurements. A specialized algorithm with software was developed for processing measurement results, which accurately presents the data in a graphical format. Experiments were performed, and the results, at distances of 200 m or further from the telecommunication base tower by changing the altitude by 5 m, were collected.