An Arduino-based subsystem for controlling UAVs through GSM

Abstract

Long distance and beyond sight of view communication between a ground control station and an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is mainly achieved using high-gain antennas, antenna trackers or satellites. These implementations demand expensive, heavy and not easily deployed equipment, while in many cases cannot provide a sufficient communication range. The current work proposes and demonstrates a lightweight and low-cost Arduino-based telecommunication subsystem that is capable of sending control commands to the UAV based on GSM or GPRS the most widely deployed cellular networks standard. During field trials control commands successfully transferred from a mobile phone as well as a laptop to the UAV autopilot, with an average time of 2.6 sec and 0.5 sec respectively. The proposed subsystem can be embedded independently or coexist with other control systems, contributing to a ubiquitous UAVs management system.