US 11,671,892 B2
Device and method for evaluating target cells for aerial equipment communicating over a terrestrial network
Daniel Vivanco, Ashburn, VA (US); David Ross Beppler, Duluth, GA (US); and Slawomir Mikolaj Stawiarski, Carpentersville, IL (US)
Assigned to AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P., Atlanta, GA (US); and AT&T Technical Services Company, Inc., Vienna, VA (US)
Filed by AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P., Atlanta, GA (US); and AT&T Technical Services Company, Inc., Vienna, VA (US)
Filed on May 12, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/318,805.
Prior Publication US 2022/0369195 A1, Nov. 17, 2022
Int. Cl. H04W 4/00 (2018.01); H04W 36/30 (2009.01); H04B 17/318 (2015.01); H04W 36/32 (2009.01); G01S 5/02 (2010.01)
CPC H04W 36/30 (2013.01) [G01S 5/0295 (2020.05); H04B 17/318 (2015.01); H04W 36/32 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
detecting, by a processing system including a processor, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) airborne with respect to a terrestrial communication network;
obtaining, by the processing system, first geolocation information for the UAV;
obtaining, by the processing system, second geolocation information for a cell of the terrestrial communication network detected by the UAV;
receiving, by the processing system, a report regarding properties of the cell;
estimating, by the processing system, a distance between the UAV and the cell;
estimating, by the processing system, an uplink path loss for the UAV with respect to the cell;
calculating, by the processing system based at least in part on the uplink path loss, an expected receive (RX) power for a signal transmitted from the UAV to the cell;
comparing, by the processing system, the expected RX power with a threshold power; and
determining, by the processing system based at least in part on the comparing, whether the cell is a suitable target cell for a communications handover procedure for the UAV.