High bandwidth - long distance - omni-directional wifi for UAV control

[tankman1989]

OK, so I'm looking for available tech and that which is under development (no matter how undeveloped or down the road). Ideally this needs to operate in most environmental save torrential downpours and high fog scenarios. Minimum range is 3 miles.

What I want is to be able to mount an AP on a UAV (heli drone) for control and transmission of data collected by various sensors on the UAV. I've read over standard wifi specs and things like WiMax and a few other things. There seems to be a lot of variations that aren't IEEE approved and have not been standardized but are functional on most levels.

For bandwidth the needs would need to support:
-2 ultra HD cameras (4-6fps) @ resolution of 7360 x 4912 (~24.2 MP)
-8 cameras of 3200 x 2400 resolution @ 4-6 FPS
-Transmit GPS data from UAV to base
-Flight controls

Now I need to brush up on the various characteristics of wireless and I don't expect for anyone to know exactly what is needed but some suggestions on where to start looking would be great. I know frequencies will play a big role in this for bandwidth and range but once the bandwidth level is supported (I'll try calculating what the above # will actually mean after compression) range needs to be maximized to the fullest. I also need to know if there is going to be any delay in control messages being sent because of the distance (like the delay when bouncing TV signals of satellites.

Also, could a ground based laser (or even microwave) be used since the UAV will be hovering when in use? With a big enough receiver surface on both ends I would think that either of these options would provide adequate bandwidth for the application. Actually scratch that b/c line of sight is often not an option with this application.

So any suggestions on any tech to look at would be great. Also any suggestions on micro HD IR and NV cameras would be great. The stuff I've found is all extreme low end and no where near the needs for the project (law enforcement level (and possibly military) equipment is an option in this case).

 

[frederick]

Been there done that.

Laser is a bad idea. Trust me on this, you can't afforf the lasers we used for certain applications in the military. And for data transfers, the sun will kill your bamdwidth, same with fog and smoke.

Wifi is a bad choice for this. You want UHF/VHF for flight controls and straight GHz for data transmission. Delay will be almost nothing because you aren't shooting to 28, 000 miles outside the atmosphere. Either way, you talk to the FCC yet?

GPS? A garmin. We used DAGR's, but whatever, same crap...it don't work right anyways

Bandwidth: separate transcievers...One for DATA (non-flight) and another for flight/gps

Flight and ground antennas need to be omni or self-adjusting directional. Self-adjusting directional will require LOS (trust me in this) but will give you more r ange and a better connection over distance with minimal power consumption. With self adjusting self-adjusting, if you lose connection, kiss the bird good bye. With omni, and talking 3 miles or more, this UAV better beable to push out some power. It will need to be more than some cheap remote control car engine.

Oh...and FCC. One thing I missed about the military...I could knock out a satellite for dish to connect to the satellite I needed to and never worry about consequences...well, not many consequences. That'll teach dish to place their brick in front of mine.

Honestly, its a big project...and I've been there, done that...ill give you advice, but you couldn't pay me to work on that less you got the cash