An Indoor Experimental Testbed for 5G-Based UAV Control and Communication

Abstract

The integration of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) into next-generation mobile networks is widely recognized as a key enabler of disruptive applications, where aerial platforms may function either as network nodes or as advanced network users supporting a variety of services. Unfortunately, experimental testbeds in which UAVs perform tasks while communicating with ground infrastructure over Fifth-Generation (5 G) networks remain scarce, primarily due to the challenges posed by legal restrictions on Beyond Line-of-Sight (BLoS) and autonomous operations. Motivated by this need, this work presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of a novel indoor experimental testbed for assessing the performance of UAV-based systems operating over 5 G networks. The testbed features an autonomously controlled quadcopter equipped with a 5G modem, connected to a private 5 G network implemented using SoftwareDefined Radio (SDR) technology and the OpenAirInterface (OAI) framework. To ensure a controlled environment, a motion capture system is used to provide absolute indoor positioning data, emulating Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) coordinates without relying on external satellites. A preliminary experimental campaign is conducted to evaluate the proposed system in terms of 5 G network performance, radio link characteristics, and UAV platform energy consumption.

Cite this work

@inproceedings{carbonara2025indoor,
  title = {{An Indoor Experimental Testbed for 5G-Based UAV Control and Communication}},
  author = {Salvatore Carbonara and Daniele Pugliese and Enrico Boffetti and Fabrizio Greco and Barbara Didonna and Giovanni Grieco and Alessio Fascista and Luigi Alfredo Grieco},
  booktitle = {2025 21st International Conference on Wireless and Mobile Computing, Networking and Communications (WiMob)},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1109/wimob66857.2025.11257529},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1109/wimob66857.2025.11257529}
}

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