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1	Radio propagation analysis for improved UAV data muling of surfaced underwater sensor nodes Palmer, Jacob N. 01 January 2015 (has links) The present work examines waypoint selection and evaluation mechanisms for data muling water sensor nodes via unmanned air vehicle. We present a mathematical model for predicting signal strength with respect to distance and height using a two-ray propagation model in conjunction with the individual radiation patterns of transmitting and receiving antennas. Signal quality over space is then be used to select best waypoints. Packet reception rate is related to the received signal strength indicator through experimentation and serves as a data efficiency indicator. Both models are then used to gather performance metrics of several simple path planning schemes. Both hover-only and in-flight communication are compared. Packet reception rate limitations were found to dramatically limit the effectiveness of waypoint selection regardless of power efficiency. Computer Engineering Electromagnetics Robotics Pure sciences Applied sciences Data muling Path planning Power Propagation Radio Waypoints Engineering