CN117203912A

CN117203912A - System and method for beam/null forming antenna control for flight plan initiation

Info

Publication number: CN117203912A
Application number: CN202280031067.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: T·L·凯西; M·R·加涅
Original assignee: Ola Network Systems
Current assignee: Ola Network Systems
Priority date: 2021-03-22
Filing date: 2022-01-20
Publication date: 2023-12-08

Abstract

Systems and methods for implementing beam/null forming antennas for flight plan initiation are presented herein. According to an aspect, a ground (i.e., terrestrial) to air communication network may include a beam/null steering antenna that may be configured to operate in conjunction with a spectrum management system to provide one or more communication links between an on-board radio and a ground-based operator. The beam/null steering antenna may also receive a flight plan of an aircraft using the system from the spectrum management system. In one or more examples, the beam/null steering antenna may use flight plan information provided by the spectrum management system to determine whether a signal received at the antenna is a known desired signal, a known undesired signal, or an unknown undesired signal. In one or more examples, the antenna may be configured to direct a beam or null to a particular signal based on the determination.

Description

System and method for beam/null forming antenna control for flight plan initiation

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority and benefit from U.S. provisional application Ser. Nos. 63/237,801 and 22, 3 and 2021, filed on 27, 2021, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to RF spectrum management in an aircraft communication network, and more particularly, to systems and methods for allocating RF narrowband spectrum channels among airborne assets to facilitate communication with a ground-based communication network.

Background

One of the key features for aerial safety for manned and unmanned flying is the ability of the airborne asset to communicate with the ground in order to relay operationally critical communications. Ensuring that the on-board asset is able to maintain a continuous and uninterrupted communication link with the ground ensures that the on-board asset is able to receive and transmit the necessary information from and to the ground controller at any and all points during a given flight.

The proliferation of on-board assets, and in particular Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), complicates the task of ensuring that each on-board asset has a continuous bi-directional communication channel with the ground station. UAVs are now capable of long range flights over a wide variety of terrain areas, with special communications requirements with the ground. For example, a ground-based UAV operator must be in continuous communication with the UAV, not only to provide instructions to the UAV from the ground, but also to receive key telemetry data from the UAV that informs the ground-based operator about the operating state of the UAV.

Ensuring the performance of a critical data link between a ground base station and a remote radio for aviation operation in the air space is critical to supporting the safety requirements of manned, unmanned, and piloted flights. The data link needs to meet the reliability, integrity, and availability performance goals specified by regulatory authorities. In environments where there are many airborne assets traversing airspace at any given time, ensuring a continuous data link for a remote radio can be challenging. In particular, the availability of usable RF spectrum can be a challenging problem. As the amount of air traffic increases, the likelihood of communication of one aircraft interfering with communication of another aircraft during flight increases. Spectral interference within an aerospace network is further exacerbated as an aircraft in a given network traverses a large geographic area, and thus must rely on multiple ground base stations to maintain a continuous communication link with the ground during its flight.

Disclosure of Invention

According to one aspect, an on-land (i.e., ground) air-to-air communication network may include a beam/null steering antenna that may be configured to operate in conjunction with a spectrum management system to provide one or more communication links between an on-board radio and a ground-based operator. In one or more examples, the beam/null steering antenna may include a plurality of transmit and receive elements capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequencies (RF signals). In one or more examples, the transmit and receive elements may be steerable and thus allow beams and nulls transmitted by the antenna to be directed in a particular direction. In one or more examples, a beam/null steering antenna may transmit multiple desired signals (i.e., beams) and null signals simultaneously and for multiple targets. The beam/null steering antennas may be configured to ensure that the beams and nulls do not collide (i.e., interfere) with each other, thereby ensuring that each beam and null transmitted by the antenna receives minimal cross-channel interference from other beams and nulls transmitted by the beam/null steering antennas.

According to one aspect, the beam/null steering antenna may also receive a flight plan of an aircraft using the system from a spectrum management system. The flight plan may allow the antenna to know the expected locations and times at those locations of the on-board radios traversing the airspace covered by the ground-based antenna network. In one or more examples, the beam/null steering antenna may use flight plan information provided by the spectrum management system to determine whether a signal received at the antenna is a known desired signal, a known undesired signal, or an unknown undesired signal. In the case where the signal is a known desired signal, the beam/null steering antenna may operate to ensure that the beam is directed in the direction of the known desired signal in order to facilitate a communication link between the ground and the on-board radio. In one or more examples, if the signal is determined to be a known undesired signal (i.e., a signal from another aircraft in the space that may interfere with the desired signal), the beam/null steering antenna may operate to ensure that the null is pointed in the direction of the known undesired signal, thereby mitigating and/or minimizing the effect of the known desired signal on the desired signal served by the beam/null steering antenna.

According to one aspect, if the beam/null steering antenna received signal does not match any received flight plan for both the desired signal and the undesired signal, in one or more examples, the antenna may be operable to direct the null in the determined direction of the unknown signal and may also communicate with a spectrum monitoring system of the base station (to which the antenna is connected) in order to identify the unknown and undesired signals. In one or more examples, providing the beam/null steering antenna with a flight plan submitted to the spectrum management system may allow the antenna to ensure that the beam and null are transmitted by the antenna in the following manner: this approach does not result in RF collisions between the beam and nulls and allows the beam to be directed to desired on-board radio signals and the nulls to undesired on-board radio signals.

In one or more examples, noise cancellation techniques implemented into the beam/null steering antenna may allow the system to maximize the desired on-board signal and reduce unwanted on-board radio interference. In one or more examples, interference digital noise cancellation may be more effectively achieved because the network knows the location and RF configuration of both the desired on-board radio signal and the undesired on-board radio signal. Noise cancellation (Noise cancellation) techniques such as continuous Noise cancellation (Successive Noise Cancellation) and multi-user detection (Multiuser Detection) may be enhanced by Beam/null forming steering antennas (Beam/Null Forming Steering Antennas) that include known RF characteristics of desired on-board radio signals and undesired on-board radio interference.

According to one aspect, a method for operating a beam and null steerable antenna includes receiving one or more flight plans, wherein each of the one or more flight plans includes timing, location, and altitude information for a flight to be flown in one or more coverage areas of an aviation communication network; receiving signal information, wherein the signal information includes location information of signals transmitted in one or more coverage areas of an aircraft communication network; determining whether the received signal matches one or more of the received flight plans; if it is determined that the received signal information matches one of the one or more received flight plans: the method includes operating one or more elements of the antenna to transmit a signal to a location indicated by location information of the received signal information, and tracking the signal with the one or more elements of the antenna based on a flight plan of the one or more flight plans that matches the received signal information.

Optionally, the flight plan includes information about the radio configuration of the aircraft performing the flight plan.

Optionally, one or more elements of the antenna are operated based on information about the radio configuration of the aircraft performing the flight plan.

Optionally, the flight plan includes information regarding whether an on-board radio associated with the flight plan is a desired signal, and wherein the beam and null steerable antenna are configured to direct the RF beam toward the desired signal in order to maintain a communication link between the on-board radio associated with the desired signal and the antenna.

Optionally, wherein the flight plan includes information regarding whether an on-board radio associated with the flight plan is an undesired signal, and wherein the beam and null steerable antenna are configured to direct RF nulls toward the undesired signal in order to reduce RF interference caused by the undesired signal.

Optionally, the signal information is received from a spectrum monitoring device configured to receive and process Radio Frequency (RF) signals received at a monitoring antenna of the base station.

Optionally, the signal information is received by the beam and null steerable antenna at one or more receive elements of the antenna.

Optionally, the flight plan includes information regarding whether an on-board radio associated with the flight plan is a desired signal, and wherein determining whether the received signal information matches a flight plan of the one or more received flight plans comprises: it is determined whether the received signal information matches a flight plan for the desired signal.

Optionally, the method comprises: if the received signal information matches the flight plan of the desired signal: one or more elements of the antenna are operated to transmit an RF beam in a direction associated with location information of signals transmitted in one or more coverage areas of the air communication network.

Optionally, the method comprises: if the received signal information matches the flight plan of the desired signal: one or more elements of the antenna are operated to track the received signal based on a flight plan of the desired signal determined to match the received signal.

Optionally, the flight plan includes information regarding whether an on-board radio associated with the flight plan is an undesired signal, and wherein determining whether the received signal information matches a flight plan of the one or more received flight plans comprises: it is determined whether the received signal information matches a flight plan for the undesired signal.

Optionally, the method comprises: if the received signal information matches the flight plan for the undesired signal: one or more elements of the antenna are operated to transmit RF nulls in a direction associated with location information of signals transmitted in one or more coverage areas of the air communication network.

Optionally, the method comprises: if the received signal information matches the flight plan for the undesired signal: one or more elements of the antenna are operated to track the received signal based on a flight plan of the undesired signal determined to match the received signal.

Optionally, if the received signal information does not match the flight plan of the desired signal or the undesired signal, the method comprises: one or more elements of the antenna are operated to transmit RF nulls in a direction associated with location information of signals transmitted in one or more coverage areas of the air communication network.

Optionally, if the received signal information does not match the flight plan of the desired signal or the undesired signal: the signal information is transmitted to a spectrum monitoring device configured to receive and process Radio Frequency (RF) signals received at a monitoring antenna of the base station.

Optionally, the spectrum monitoring device is configured to determine information associated with an identity of an on-board radio associated with signal information received from the beam and null steering antenna.

Optionally, tracking the signal with one or more elements of the antenna based on a flight plan of the one or more flight plans that matches the received signal information includes: the position of the transmitted signal is adjusted based on the flight plan.

Optionally, wherein the beam and null steerable antenna comprises a plurality of receive elements configured to receive RF energy from a source.

The method of claim 18, wherein one or more of the plurality of receiving elements is configured to receive horizontally polarized RF energy from a source.

Optionally, one or more of the plurality of receiving elements is configured to receive vertically polarized RF energy from a source.

Optionally, the beam and null steerable antenna includes a plurality of transmit elements configured to transmit RF energy.

Optionally, one or more of the plurality of transmit elements is configured to transmit horizontally polarized RF energy.

Optionally, one or more of the plurality of transmit elements is configured to transmit vertically polarized RF energy.

According to one aspect, a beam and null steerable antenna includes: one or more elements configured to receive and transmit RF energy, a memory, one or more processors. Wherein the memory stores one or more programs that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receiving one or more flight plans, wherein each of the one or more flight plans includes timing, location, and altitude information for a flight to be flown in one or more coverage areas of an aviation communication network; receiving signal information, wherein the signal information includes location information of signals transmitted in one or more coverage areas of an aircraft communication network; determining whether the received signal information matches one or more of the received flight plans; if it is determined that the received signal information matches one of the one or more received flight plans: one or more elements of the antenna are operated to transmit signals to locations indicated by location information of the received signal information, and the signals are tracked with the one or more elements of the antenna based on a flight plan of the one or more flight plans that matches the received signal information.

Optionally, the flight plan includes information regarding whether an on-board radio associated with the flight plan is an undesired signal, and wherein the beam and null steerable antenna are configured to direct RF nulls toward the undesired signal in order to reduce RF interference caused by the undesired signal.

Optionally, causing the one or more processors to: if the received signal information matches the flight plan of the desired signal: one or more elements of the antenna are operated to transmit an RF beam in a direction associated with location information of signals transmitted in one or more coverage areas of the air communication network.

Optionally, causing the one or more processors to: if the received signal information matches the flight plan of the desired signal: one or more elements of the antenna are operated to track the received signal based on a flight plan of the desired signal determined to match the received signal.

Optionally, causing the one or more processors to: if the received signal information matches the flight plan for the undesired signal: one or more elements of the antenna are operated to transmit RF nulls in a direction associated with location information of signals transmitted in one or more coverage areas of the air communication network.

Optionally, causing the one or more processors to: if the received signal information matches the flight plan for the undesired signal: one or more elements of the antenna are operated to track the received signal based on a flight plan of the undesired signal determined to match the received signal.

Optionally, if the received signal information does not match the flight plan of the desired signal or the undesired signal, causing the one or more processors to: one or more elements of the antenna are operated to transmit RF nulls in a direction associated with location information of signals transmitted in one or more coverage areas of the air communication network.

Optionally, if the received signal information does not match the flight plan of the desired signal or the undesired signal, causing the one or more processors to: the signal information is transmitted to a spectrum monitoring device configured to receive and process Radio Frequency (RF) signals received at a monitoring antenna of the base station.

Optionally, the beam and null steerable antenna includes a plurality of receive elements configured to receive RF energy from a source.

Optionally, one or more of the plurality of receiving elements is configured to receive horizontally polarized RF energy from the source.

According to one aspect, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium stores one or more programs for operating a beam and a null steerable antenna, the one or more programs for execution by one or more processors of an electronic device, the one or more programs, when executed by the device, cause the device to: receiving one or more flight plans, wherein each of the one or more flight plans includes timing, location, and altitude information for flights to be flown in one or more coverage areas of an aviation communication network; receiving signal information, wherein the signal information includes location information of signals transmitted in one or more coverage areas of an aircraft communication network; determining whether the received signal information matches one or more of the received flight plans; if it is determined that the received signal information matches one of the one or more received flight plans: one or more elements of the antenna are operated to transmit a signal to a location indicated by the location information of the received signal information, and the signal is tracked with the one or more elements of the antenna based on a flight plan of the one or more flight plans that matches the received signal information.

Optionally, causing the apparatus to: if the received signal information matches the flight plan of the desired signal: one or more elements of the antenna are operated to transmit an RF beam in a direction associated with location information of signals transmitted in one or more coverage areas of the air communication network.

Optionally, the apparatus is caused to: if the received signal information matches the flight plan of the desired signal: one or more elements of the antenna are operated to track the received signal based on a flight plan of the desired signal determined to match the received signal.

Optionally, the apparatus is caused to: if the received signal information matches the flight plan for the undesired signal: one or more elements of the antenna are operated to transmit RF nulls in a direction associated with location information of signals transmitted in one or more coverage areas of the air communication network.

Optionally, the apparatus is caused to: if the received signal information matches the flight plan for the undesired signal: one or more elements of the antenna are operated to track the received signal based on a flight plan of the undesired signal determined to match the received signal.

Optionally, if the received signal information does not match the flight plan of the desired signal or the undesired signal, causing the apparatus to: one or more elements of the antenna are operated to transmit RF nulls in a direction associated with location information of signals transmitted in one or more coverage areas of the air communication network.

Optionally, if the received signal information does not match the flight plan of the desired signal or the undesired signal, causing the apparatus to: the signal information is transmitted to a spectrum monitoring device configured to receive and process Radio Frequency (RF) signals received at a monitoring antenna of the base station.

Drawings

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 illustrates an aeronautical communication network according to an example of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example steerable antenna according to an example of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates an exemplary implementation of a receiver and transmit array within a beam/null steering antenna according to an example of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary system for RF spectrum management for an aircraft communication network according to an example of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example system for RF spectrum allocation and management according to an example of this disclosure.

Fig. 6 illustrates an exemplary process for determining antenna availability according to an example of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 illustrates an exemplary spectrum monitoring device according to an example of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 illustrates an exemplary process for operating a beam/null steering antenna using flight plan information according to an example of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 illustrates an example beam steering antenna system according to examples of this disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary computing system according to an example of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to implementations and embodiments of various aspects and variations of the systems and methods described herein. Although a few exemplary variations of the systems and methods are described herein, other variations of the systems and methods may include aspects of the systems and methods described herein combined in any suitable manner with combinations of all or some of the described aspects.

Described herein are systems and methods for implementing and operating beam/null steering antennas. In one or more examples, the airborne communication network may include a beam/null steering antenna that may be configured to operate in conjunction with a spectrum management system to provide one or more bi-directional communication links between the on-board radio and the ground-based operator. In one or more examples, the beam/null steering antenna may include a plurality of transmit and receive elements capable of transmitting and receiving radio frequencies (RF signals). In one or more examples, the transmit and receive elements may be steerable and thus allow beams and nulls transmitted by the antenna to point in a particular direction determined by the spectrum management system. In one or more examples, a beam/null steering antenna may transmit multiple desired signals (i.e., beams) and null signals simultaneously and for multiple targets.

In one or more examples, the beam/null steering antenna may receive tasks from a flight plan based spectrum management system configured to manage communications between the on-board radio and ground operations over a ground-to-air communications network. In one or more examples, the antenna may use the flight plan information to determine whether a signal in the network is a known desired signal, a known undesired signal, or an unknown undesired signal. In one or more examples, if the antenna detects a signal and classifies it as a known desired signal based on received flight plan information, the antenna may direct a beam at the location of the desired signal in order to establish a communication link between the on-board radio and the ground-based operator. In one or more examples, if the received signal is determined to be a known undesired signal (based on flight plan information), the antenna may direct a null signal to the undesired signal in order to minimize or completely eliminate the ability of the undesired signal to interfere with the desired signal in the network.

In the following description of various embodiments, it is to be understood that the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" used in the following description are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates to the contrary. It will also be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or units, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, units, and/or groups thereof.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure include processing steps and instructions in the form of algorithms described herein. It should be noted that the process steps and instructions of the present disclosure may be embodied in software, firmware, or hardware, and when embodied in software, may be downloaded to reside on and be operated from different platforms used by a variety of operating systems. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the description, terms such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining," "displaying," "generating," or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure also relates to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. The apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, such as, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, USB flash drives, external hard drives, optical disks, CD-ROMs, magneto-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random Access Memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and each coupled to a computer system bus. Furthermore, the computing systems referred to in this specification may comprise a single processor or may be architectures employing multiple processor designs, such as for performing different functions or for increased computing capability. Suitable processors include Central Processing Units (CPUs), graphics Processing Units (GPUs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and ASICs.

The methods, apparatus, and systems described herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may also be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these systems will appear from the description below. In addition, the present invention is not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the disclosure as described herein.

When the aircraft is in flight, it is critical that the aircraft have a reliable and continuous communication link with the ground. For example, in an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), the aircraft is flown and controlled by an operator from the ground, and the operator will need to constantly update information about the UAV status. To facilitate unmanned flight, UAVs must maintain continuous contact with operators on the ground so that they can receive instructions and also so that they can transmit important telemetry information to let operators know the status of the flight. However, as the volume of air traffic increases throughout the world, it can become a complex task to provide a reliable and continuous communication link for an aircraft throughout its flight duration. Ground-to-air communication networks may include many aircraft, ground stations, and geographic areas that need to be coordinated to ensure that individual aircraft in the network can be provided with a reliable and continuous communication channel during their flight.

Fig. 1 illustrates an aerospace network according to an example of the present disclosure. The example of fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary communication network 100 that may be configured to provide communication between one or more ground base stations 104a-c and one or more in-flight aircraft 102. In one or more examples, the communication network 100 may include one or more ground base stations 104a-c. Each of the ground base stations 104a-c includes one or more antennas configured to transmit communications from the ground to one or more aircraft 102. In one or more examples, each ground base station 104a-c may be configured to provide transmissions within coverage areas 108 a-c. For example, the ground base station 104a may be configured to transmit RF spectrum radio signals over the geographic coverage area 108 a. The terrestrial base station 104b may be configured to transmit RF spectrum radio signals over the geographic coverage area 108b and the terrestrial base station 104c may be configured to transmit RF spectrum radio signals over the geographic coverage area 108 c. In one or more examples, the geographic coverage areas 108a-c may be three-dimensional areas that not only cover a range of latitude and longitude, but also provide coverage of areas from the ground up to a maximum available height.

In one or more examples, each aircraft 102 may be handed off from one ground base station to the next during its flight duration. For example, at the beginning of a flight, when aircraft 102 is within coverage area 108a, ground base station 104a may be responsible for providing a communication channel between an operator on the ground and the aircraft. If during flight, the aircraft leaves coverage area 108a into coverage area 108b, responsibility for providing the communication channel may be transferred from ground base station 104a to ground station 104b. If during flight, aircraft 102 leaves coverage area 108b into coverage area 108c, responsibility for providing the communication channel may be transferred from ground base station 104b to ground station 104c. In this manner, the communication network 100 may be configured to ensure that the aircraft has a communication channel established with at least one ground base station at any point along its flight plan, so long as the flight plan passes through at least one coverage area at any point during its flight.

In one or more examples, each base station 104a-c can be communicatively coupled to a base station controller 106a-c, respectively. Thus, in one or more examples, a terrestrial base station 104a can be communicatively coupled to a base station controller 106a, a terrestrial base station 104b can be communicatively coupled to a base station controller 106b, and a terrestrial base station 104c can be communicatively coupled to a base station controller 106c. As described in further detail below, each base station controller may be configured to: an RF-based communication channel between the ground operator and the aircraft 102 is implemented as the aircraft traverses through coverage areas 108a-c corresponding to the base stations that the controller is configured to operate. In one or more examples, implementing the RF-based communication channel may include: the operator transmitted signals are modulated to the RF spectrum frequencies assigned to aircraft 102, an appropriate modulation scheme is applied to the transmitted signals, and any other physical layer communication protocol is applied, such as error correction codes.

In one or more examples, the goals of the communication network 100 may be: any given aircraft 102 operating within the network is provided with a continuous and reliable RF spectrum channel for the entire duration of its flight. In one or more examples, providing a continuous and reliable RF spectrum to an aircraft may include: a single RF spectrum channel (i.e., time slot) is provided to an aircraft that can reliably use the RF spectrum channel to communicate with the ground for the entire duration of its flight. In one or more examples, each aircraft in a given space domain may communicate with the ground using a dedicated RF spectrum channel (i.e., a frequency range that is unique to that aircraft in the RF spectrum and that can only be used by that aircraft to transmit and receive communications from the ground). To facilitate efficient flight operations, in one or more examples, each ground base station 104a-c coupled to its corresponding base station controller 106a-c may be configured to: ensuring that each aircraft within its coverage area 108a-c is able to communicate with the ground using communications transmitted in the RF spectrum channel assigned to that aircraft.

In one or more examples, each ground base station 104a-c may include one or more antennas mounted to the base station and configured to transmit signals from one or more ground operators (i.e., pilots) to one or more on-board radios mounted on the aircraft 102. In one or more examples, and as described in further detail below, one or more antennas may be implemented as a computer-controlled antenna array that may be electronically "steered" to point in different directions depending on the location of the aircraft in network 100. In one or more examples, the antenna may be implemented as a phased array antenna that allows signals to be directed in a particular direction without physically moving the antenna. By pointing the antenna in the direction of the target (i.e., the on-board radio that will transmit data to and receive data from the antenna), the antenna is able to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio of the communication link between the antenna and the on-board radio, thereby ensuring a stable communication link between the ground and the on-board radio.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example steerable antenna according to an example of the present disclosure. In one or more examples, the antenna 200 of fig. 2 may be mounted to the ground base station tower 104. In one or more examples of the present disclosure, antenna 200 may include a receive array 202 and a transmit array 204. In one or more examples, the transmit array 204 may be configured to transmit signals from the ground base station 104 to one or more aircraft 102 (and more specifically, to each on-board radio located onboard the aircraft). In one or more examples, the transmit array 204 may include a plurality of antenna elements 216, wherein each element 216 of the transmit array 204 is configured to transmit a signal. In one or more examples, and in examples of phased array implementations, the antenna elements 216 of the transmit array 204 may cooperate to direct one or more signals to a desired geographic location, as discussed above. In one or more examples of the present disclosure, each transmit array element 216 may be independently steerable so as to be directed in the direction in which the intended receiver is located.

In one or more examples, the receive array 202 may be configured to receive signals from one or more aircraft 102 (and more specifically, each of the on-board radios located on the aircraft) at the ground base station 104. In one or more examples, the receive array 202 may include a plurality of antenna elements 214, wherein each element 214 of the receive array 202 is configured to receive signals. In one or more examples, and in examples of phased array implementations, the antenna elements 214 of the receive array 202 may operate together to receive signals from a desired geographic location, as discussed above. In one or more examples of the present disclosure, each receive array element 214 may be independently steerable so as to be directed in the direction in which the signal to be received is located.

In one or more examples, antenna array elements 214 and 216 may be configured to produce a radiation pattern that includes lobes (i.e., where signal gain is maximized) and nulls (i.e., where signal gain is minimized to nearly zero). In one or more examples, the radiation pattern (i.e., lobes and nulls) of the antenna may be dynamically reconfigured such that the lobes may be directed to locations where the desired signal is to be directed (i.e., the on-board radios to which the base station wants to establish a communication link), and the nulls of the antenna radiation pattern may be directed in the direction of interfering sources or unknown signals that may interfere with communications between the antenna and the on-board radios traversing the airspace of the ground base station. In one or more examples, antenna elements 214 and 216 may be physically moved, or in the case of a phased array, the phase may be adjusted so that nulls and lobes may be directed in particular directions as needed for optimal operation of the antenna.

In one or more examples, antenna 200 may include processing logic that may ensure that lobe patterns and null patterns do not interfere with one another during operation of the antenna. For example, if the nulls and lobes of the antenna are oriented such that the propagation paths of the nulls and the propagation paths of the nulls intersect each other, the two signals may collide with each other. Collisions between signals may result in degraded overall performance of the antenna, and antenna 200 may not adequately provide a high enough signal-to-noise ratio to the desired signal to reliably provide a communication channel for those on-board radios to communicate with ground-based operators. In one or more examples, antenna 200 may be configured to examine requests that direct lobes and nulls to particular geographic areas and ensure that the antenna satisfies those requests in a manner that does not result in signal collisions between the requests.

In one or more examples, antenna 200 may include separate horizontally and vertically polarized receiving and transmitting elements. By including separate polarizations, antenna 200 can effectively double its transmit and receive capacity. The use of horizontal and vertical polarization is by way of example only and should not be considered limiting. In one or more examples, antenna 200 may also be configured to receive unpolarized signals and circularly polarized signals. As shown in fig. 2, the antenna 200 may include a plurality of receiving vertical polarization elements 206 configured to receive a vertically polarized portion of a signal. In one or more examples, antenna 200 may include a plurality of receiving horizontal polarization elements 208 configured to receive horizontally polarized portions of a signal. In one or more examples, antenna 200 may include a plurality of transmitting vertically polarized elements 210 configured to transmit vertically polarized signals to one or more on-board radios. In one or more examples, antenna 200 may include a plurality of transmit horizontal polarization elements 212 configured to transmit horizontally polarized signals to one or more on-board radios.

In addition to the antenna element itself, the antenna 200 of fig. 2 may include a plurality of processing components that may work together to operate the antenna so that the antenna may provide a communication link between an on-board radio in the coverage area of the base station and a ground operator. Fig. 3 illustrates an exemplary implementation of a receiver and transmit array within a beam/null steering antenna according to an example of the present disclosure. In the example of fig. 3, the receive and transmit arrays may be communicatively coupled to a processing system 300, which processing system 300 may be collectively configured to operate antennas to provide a communication channel between the on-board radio and the ground while also functioning to minimize the effects of unwanted or undesired signals that also propagate in the coverage area (as described in further detail below).

In one or more examples, system 300 can include a digital processing component 302 configured to collectively perform digital beamforming. In one or more examples, digital beamforming may include a process of digitally adding data streams to and from antenna elements to generate a composite signal reflecting signals provided by and received by the antenna elements. In one or more examples, the system 300 can include one or more analog components 304. In one or more examples, analog component 304 may include one or more converters, such as digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), configured to act as an interface between analog component 304 and digital component 302. In one or more examples, the DAC may be configured to convert a digital signal from the digital processor that is sent to the antenna to an analog signal. The ADC may be configured to convert analog signals from the antenna to digital signals for processing by the digital processing component 302. In one or more examples, analog component 304 can include analog up-converters and down-converters configured to up-convert and down-convert signals transmitted to and received from antenna elements, respectively.

In one or more examples, system 300 can include antenna architecture element 306, which can include a front-end module and an antenna element. In one or more examples, the front end module may include an amplifier and a switch that operate together to achieve a particular beam pattern (i.e., lobes and nulls) required by the antenna. Thus, in one or more examples, and as described above, antenna architecture component 306 can operate to: depending on the location of the on-board radio where the communication channel is required and the interference signals that the antenna is able to operate to minimize or eliminate, the lobes and nulls of the antenna are directed as required by the antenna. In one or more examples, the null point is not directed toward the target aircraft, but may be additionally aimed at reducing the overall carrier-to-noise ratio of the various communication channels operated by the ground station.

Also illustrated in fig. 3 is an example physical architecture 308 of the antenna element. In one or more examples, the transmit and receive antenna elements may be arranged in a circular architecture as shown at 308 such that the transmit and receive elements may provide 360 degree coverage to the coverage area of the base station where the antenna is located.

As described in detail below, the beam/null forming antennas described above with respect to fig. 2 and 3 may operate within a spectrum management system that may coordinate communications between one or more base stations in a network and one or more on-board radios traversing a communication network managed by the spectrum management system. The capabilities of the antenna may be used in conjunction with the spectrum management system, and the information provided by the spectrum management system may be used to enhance the operation of the antenna so that it may provide a reliable and continuous communication channel for one or more on-board radios in the network during its flight through the network. In one or more examples, and as described in further detail below, the beam/null forming steering antenna system may be enhanced by submitting a flight plan for an aircraft having an on-board radio requesting spectrum resources from a spectrum management system of an aviation network. By using the flight plan provided by the spectrum management system, the antenna system can be made aware of where or where all of the on-board radios in the network are located, or are expected to be located, at any time. Such knowledge may include deviations that may be necessary based on updated/modified/attached flight plan files-this may occur in real-time based on an indication of air traffic control. Such knowledge may allow planning and assignment of traffic channels to include benefits obtained by using location-assisted beam/null steering antennas by ensuring that the on-board radio is at a predefined location, thereby maximizing the effectiveness of the antenna system. Telemetry data of the on-board radio collected in real time may be provided to the antenna system and compared to the flight plan for tracking. In one or more examples, telemetry of location and altitude may be provided by external resources, such as GPS, enhanced RTK GPS, and alternate GPS based on triangulation of multiple ground-based navigation beacons, aircraft barometers, and radar altimeters.

It can be difficult to assign a dedicated RF spectrum channel to an aircraft for use throughout the duration of its flight. Typically, a given base station is responsible for providing communication channels for hundreds of flights at any given time, where each aircraft in coverage requires its own dedicated RF spectrum channel so that it can communicate with the ground without interference from other airborne traffic in the airspace. Furthermore, because the flight may traverse multiple base stations during a given flight, assigning a dedicated RF spectrum for the flight to communicate with the ground without competition throughout the flight duration may require a high level of coordination to ensure that two aircraft that do not traverse the same coverage area use the same RF spectrum channel. Furthermore, since the RF environment in a given coverage area is dynamic, it is not only necessary to ensure that no two flights in the given coverage area operate on the same RF channel, but it is also necessary to ensure that any communications between the aircraft and the ground are not interfered with by various noise sources that would operate in the given coverage area. These noise sources may include RF noise floor, correlated or uncorrelated network co-channel or adjacent channel interference, and out-of-band sources of interference.

To coordinate the assignment of RF spectrum channels to aircraft, in one or more examples, a system configured to support dynamic spectrum management of secure aviation operations may be implemented to coordinate the allocation of RF spectrum channels to aircraft operating in a given communication network. In one or more examples, the spectrum management system may allocate spectrum and traffic channels in a deterministic manner to ensure that radio resources are available between ground base stations and on-board radios operating on aircraft in the network.

Fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary system for RF spectrum management for an aircraft communication network according to an example of the present disclosure. In one or more examples of the present disclosure, the communication network 400 of fig. 4 may include the same components (i.e., the aircraft 102, the ground base stations 104a-c, and the base station controllers 106 a-c) as the communication network 100 described above with respect to fig. 1, but may also include one or more spectrum management system components (described in further detail below) that may manage the process of assigning RF spectrum channels to the aircraft 102 in the network 400.

In one or more examples of the present disclosure, one or more pilot/operators 406 may be connected to the network 400 to transmit data (such as command and control data) to one or more aircraft 102. Each pilot 406 may be communicatively coupled to the network 400 through a spectrum management system 402, which spectrum management system 402 may be configured to allocate RF spectrum channels to each aircraft 402 controlled by the pilot 406. In one or more examples, the spectrum management system 402 may be configured to facilitate a communication link between each pilot 406 and its corresponding aircraft 102 by establishing an RF communication link using a designated RF spectrum channel assigned to each aircraft.

In one or more examples of the present disclosure, the spectrum management system may be configured to manage each active communication link between the aircraft 102 and pilot/operator 406. Thus, in one or more examples, if the spectrum management system 402 determines that a given communication link has been compromised or degraded, the spectrum management system 402 can take action to adjust the communication link to alleviate the problem. For example, in one or more examples, if a given RF spectrum channel being used by aircraft 102 is no longer performing satisfactorily or is no longer meeting the required specifications, spectrum channel management system 402 may change the RF spectrum channel (described in detail below) to an alternate available channel in real-time to ensure that each aircraft maintains a reliable RF communication link. In one or more examples, if the pilot deviates from their advertised flight plan (e.g., because the time of flight is longer than expected), the spectrum management system 402 may be configured to take action (e.g., by switching RF channels) to ensure that any disruption to the communication channel is mitigated.

In one or more examples of the present disclosure, in addition to actively managing a communication channel, spectrum management system 402 may be configured to: one or more RF channels are allocated and reserved for a given flight for use during the flight duration. As described in further detail below, the spectrum management system 202 may receive flight plans from the pilot/operator 206 and, based on the submitted flight plans and other factors (such as availability of antennas), may assign RF channels to each flight in a deterministic manner that accounts for potential interference that may be encountered during the flight.

In one or more examples, the above-described spectrum allocation process may be implemented by spectrum management system 402 and/or may be handled in one or more separate components, collectively referred to herein as "digital twinning. Because of the large amount of information and the likely presence of tens of thousands of end users in a given space domain, spectrum and/or traffic channel requests may be made, digital twinning of the spectrum management system may be used to perform the required analysis without affecting the operating system. In one or more examples, as illustrated in the example of fig. 4, digital twinning 404 may be implemented separately from spectrum management system 402 in order to reduce the processing load of spectrum management system 402, thereby freeing it to perform real-time operations associated with managing an active communication channel of an aircraft that is traversing an airspace managed by spectrum management system 402. Alternatively, digital twinning 404 may also be implemented as part of a spectrum management system such that real-time management of the air communication link and flight planning are both performed by the same component.

In one or more examples, digital twinning 404 may be configured to receive one or more requests from pilot 406 for spectrum used during a given flight plan. By using the flight plan provided by the pilot, as well as other factors (described below), digital twinning can determine the RF spectrum channel assigned to the aircraft at the start of its flight. Once the request is acknowledged in digital twinning 404, the execution and assignment of communication channels on operable spectrum management system 402 may be performed.

As described above, the spectrum management system 402 and the digital twinning 404 may coordinate the RF spectrum requirements of multiple aircraft in a given communication network in order to ensure that each individual aircraft may access a reliable and continuous communication channel with the ground throughout its flight. In one or more examples, spectrum management system 402 and digital twinning 404 may work cooperatively to allocate and reserve RF spectrum channels for single-shelf aircraft, and as described below, each individual communication link in flight may be monitored to ensure that the communication link is operating as it requires.

Selecting the RF channel assigned to a given flight may involve analyzing a number of variables to ensure that the selected channel will meet the needs of the aircraft throughout the duration of the aircraft's flight. In one or more examples, the spectrum management system 402 and digital twinning may analyze several variables, such as available spectrum resources, radio link throughput and performance requirements, location (including altitude), time periods, and radio frequency environment, to assign non-competing resources between pilot and aircraft. In one or more examples, the variables affecting channel selection may be populated by several internal and external components of spectrum management system 402 that work together to match the aircraft to one or more RF channels used during flight, as described below.

In one or more examples, each pilot (i.e., operator) in the communication network may interact with the communication network via the spectrum management system 402 and the digital twinning 404 before and during its flight. Prior to flight, and as described below, the pilot may interact with the spectrum management system and digital twinning to receive RF spectrum channel allocations based on its submitted flight plan and other variables for use during its flight. During flight, the spectrum management system 402 may provide the allocated RF spectrum channels to both the aircraft and pilot to establish a continuous communication link, and the spectrum management system may monitor the link during flight to ensure that it is executing within specifications.

In one or more examples of the present disclosure, network 400 may include one or more base stations, which may or may not be connected to spectrum management system 402, e.g., in a point-to-point communication link. In one or more examples, a service provider providing and maintaining access to spectrum management system 402 may not be able to provide coverage for each desired geographic location. In one or more examples, the service provider may provide temporary or portable base stations 408 to the pilot in areas where the pilot may want to operate a flight but not within the coverage area of an existing base station. In one or more examples, the temporary/portable base station may not have a connection with the spectrum management system 402 and therefore cannot receive/transmit information from/to the spectrum management system for the purpose of supplying RF channels to the aircraft. In one or more examples, these unconnected base stations will submit an operation plan into the spectrum management system and digital twinning to coordinate and determine geofences for interference and coverage.

In one or more examples, the temporary/portable base station 408 may be used to establish point-to-point links and multipoint links between the temporary/portable base station 408 and one or more aircraft radios for flight operations. In one or more examples of the present disclosure, an operator of the temporary/portable base station 408 may inform the service provider of the "operational concept" of the base station 408, which describes the number of aircraft, the time they will be in flight, and the spectrum they will use to communicate with the aircraft. Although the spectrum monitoring system 402 may not send real-time information to the temporary/portable base station 408, the spectrum management system 402 may use the operational concepts of the temporary/portable base station 208 to update the geofences of the network-connected base stations 106a-c (described in detail below) and may operate to ensure that flights flying within its network 400 do not interfere with the flight operations of the temporary/portable base station 408. In one or more examples, spectrum management system 402 can inform an operator of a flight through network 400 of physical limitations imposed on its operation by temporary/portable base station 408 and can take into account the operation of temporary/portable base station 408 when making RF spectrum slot assignments. In this way, while spectrum management system 202 may not coordinate the operation of temporary/portable base station 408, it may operate to protect its own network (i.e., the base station connected to the spectrum management system) from point-to-point operation of the temporary/portable base station.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example system for RF spectrum allocation and management according to an example of this disclosure. In one or more examples, the system 300 may represent a single link of the communication network shown in fig. 1 and 4 and include components to manage the link between the pilot 502 and the aircraft 536. In one or more examples of the present disclosure, planning, creation, and operation of the link between pilot 502 and aircraft 536 may begin with pilot 502 submitting digital twins 504 with information about their proposed flights. In one or more examples and as shown in fig. 5, the information sent by pilot 502 to digital twins 504 may include flight plans, aircraft/radio configurations, and throughput requirements.

In one or more examples, the flight plan submitted by pilot 502 (which may also be referred to as an operational plan) may include flight mission details such as the expected timing, altitude, position, and speed of the aircraft during the proposed flight. In one or more examples, pilot 502 may submit the flight plan to a regulatory agency, such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), for approval, and additionally send the flight plan to a spectrum management system via digital twinning 504 in order to obtain one or more RF spectrum channels used during the proposed flight. Additionally, and as described in further detail below, flight plan information provided to the spectrum management system via digital twinning 504 may also be provided to beam steering antenna 530, which in one or more examples may be implemented in accordance with the examples described above with respect to fig. 2-3. In addition to the flight plan, pilot 502 may also send additional information to digital twinning 504, which may use the additional information to select and assign RF spectrum channels to users. For example, in one or more examples, pilot 504 may transmit a configuration of an aircraft or radio to inform digital twinning 504 about the type of radio with which the pilot will communicate during flight. Knowledge of the radio configuration may allow digital twinning 504 to not only learn the spectrum requirements of the aircraft, but also to determine and predict other necessary information about the communication channel, such as modulation schemes and forward error correction codes to be activated in flight.

In one or more examples of the present disclosure, pilot 502 may also transmit throughput requirements to digital twins 504. In one or more examples, the throughput requirements may represent the amount of data that needs to be sent and received over the communication link. In one or more examples, throughput may be specified by pilot 502 or may be derived based on the pilot submitted aircraft/radio configuration. For example, in one or more examples, a particular aircraft (such as a UAV) may require a certain data throughput for the channel to operate its autopilot function correctly, and thus by knowing the aircraft type, the system may derive the throughput requirements for that flight. As described in detail below, the throughput requirements may be used to determine the total amount of bandwidth of the RF spectrum channel, and thus may inform the selection of one or more channels having an effective bandwidth to accommodate the throughput requirements of the flight.

As described above, the digital twinning 504 can use the flight plan and other information transmitted to it by the pilot 502, as well as other information, to select one or more RF spectrum channels for use by the pilot 502 during its flight. In one or more examples, digital twinning 504 can access traffic channel pool 514 to determine availability of RF spectrum channels to serve a given flight. In one or more examples, traffic channel pool 514 may represent all RF spectrum channels that may be used to service a given flight. However, because there may be multiple aircraft in the network at any given time and certain channels need to be reserved for emergency purposes (described in detail below), not every channel in the traffic channel pool 514 may be available for use by a particular aircraft during the time and location required for flight based on its flight plan.

In one or more examples, digital twinning 504 can select one or more channels from traffic channel pool 514, which traffic channel pool 514 can include available subchannels 516, reserved channels 518, and restricted traffic channels 520, as described above.

To allocate RF channels to an aircraft, in one or more examples, digital twinning 504 may first determine whether RF coverage is available to the aircraft throughout the flight of the aircraft. To this end, in one or more examples, the digital twinning 504 of the spectrum management system may determine a "geofence" for the coverage area of each ground base station in the network, as shown at 506. In one or more examples, a "geofence" 506 may refer to an interval within a coverage area within which there is sufficient RF availability for flight services. In one or more examples, when pilot 502 submits a flight plan, the system can query geofence 506 to ensure that RF availability exists throughout the path of the plan and at all elevations that are clear in the flight plan. In one or more examples of the present disclosure, the geofence may be shared with a pilot/operator of the flight and may be programmed into an autopilot of the aircraft vehicle for use during the flight.

In one or more examples, the geofence can be created using a dynamic link budget 508 maintained by the digital twinning 504. In one or more examples, each geofence 506 can have its own dynamic link budget 508. The dynamic link budget 358 can determine the RF availability of a given geofence at any particular time, and can even predict RF availability for a given geofence in the future based on various parameters. In one or more examples, dynamic link budget 508 may include various parameters such as antenna gain, RF loss, receiver sensitivity, power, frequency, spectrum bandwidth, traffic channel size/number (i.e., subchannels, resource blocks), quality of service (QOS) requirements, modulation, spectrum monitoring system results (described in further detail below), and location of any known co-channel interferer. The dynamic link budget 508 can also include RF safety margins to ensure reliable communication signals in the geofence 506. In one or more examples, operating spectrum management system 522 (described in detail below) may maintain a real-time version of the link budget that varies based on changing conditions in the RF environment. In one or more examples, digital twinning 504 can maintain a model of the link budget, and this dynamic link budget 308 can be used to predict RF conditions at future times based on the time involved in a given flight path. In one or more examples, the dynamic link budget for each geofence can be verified using measurements of RF spectrum activity at each base station in the area to ensure that the dynamic link budget includes up-to-date information and accurately reflects the RF environment that the dynamic link budget is intended to simulate. In one or more examples, each geofence can be configured to predict coverage based on: the components of the flight plan presented to the spectrum management system, the spectrum monitoring system employed at each base station, the ability of the beam/null forming antenna at each base station, and other known locations of the on-board radios. In one or more examples, the actual performance of the radio link created at the base station may be monitored and information sent to the spectrum management system for verification and modification of the geofence.

In one or more examples, and as part of the process of assigning RF spectrum channels to aircraft, digital twinning 504 can cross-reference the dynamic link budget with calibrated RF coverage prediction tool 510. In one or more examples, RF coverage prediction tool 510 uses appropriate RF prediction models, morphology, topology, antenna pattern characteristics, and antenna pitch (angle) to create a dynamic geofence coverage area based on remote radio configuration and user requirements. In one or more examples, RF coverage prediction tool 510 can be used to generate a dynamic link budget for each geofence coverage area that the flight is to traverse based on its submitted flight plan.

In one or more examples of the present disclosure, digital twinning 504 may also be configured to determine whether a beam/null steering antenna may simultaneously provide a desired lobe and null to an intended target in a manner that does not collide with another beam/null steering antenna. As described above, digital twinning may be pre-learned of potential channel interference between aircraft based on the flight plan submitted to digital twinning. For example, at a particular base station, an airborne radio traversing the airspace at that base station may experience channel interference from communications transmitted by an aircraft that is traversing an adjacent coverage area and simultaneously communicating with its own respective base station. In one or more examples, and as described above, a beam/null steering antenna may project a lobe (i.e., a beam) toward a desired signal (i.e., an on-board radio in its coverage area) and direct a null signal toward another aircraft in an adjacent coverage area in order to minimize interference caused by that aircraft. However, as described above, the antenna may need to coordinate its elements (i.e., transmit and receive elements) so that signals received and transmitted by each other do not interfere with each other, e.g., by crossing beams and thereby creating collisions within the antenna. Since a single beam/null steering antenna can operate multiple communication channels simultaneously, the beam/null steering antenna must ensure that it operates these communication links in a manner that does not cause collisions (i.e., the beam and null do not interfere with each other).

In one or more examples, as part of the process of ensuring that the received flight plan has RF availability for its flight duration, digital twinning 504 can simulate determining if the required lobes and nulls and their directions would cause collisions in the antenna, as described above. If a possible antenna collision is detected, digital twinning 504 can alert the operator: due to the conflict, the flight plan needs to be adjusted.

Fig. 6 illustrates an exemplary process for determining antenna availability according to an example of the present disclosure. In one or more examples, the process 600 of fig. 6 may be performed at digital twinning 504 such that as part of determining the RF availability of a received flight plan, digital twinning 504 may determine whether a beam/null steering antenna may provide the required lobes and nulls at the required trajectory to provide an overall reliable communication link for all aircraft traversing the coverage area of the base station. In one or more examples of the present disclosure, process 600 may begin at step 602 where a flight plan is received at digital twinning 504. In one or more examples, and as discussed above, the flight plan may include flight mission details, such as the expected time, altitude, position, and speed of the aircraft during the proposed flight.

In one or more examples, once digital twinning 504 receives flight plan information at step 602, process 600 can move to step 604 where the flight information obtained from the received flight plan can be mapped for site coverage availability and available channel capacity as described above. At step 604, digital twinning can use the geofence 506 and one or more dynamic link budgets 508 (as described above) within a particular coverage area to determine whether the proposed flight plan will have available RF coverage at all times and locations proposed in the flight plan.

In one or more examples, the mapping of flight information performed at step 604 for site coverage and available channel capacity may assume that beam/null steering antenna 530 will cause antenna elements available to provide the required lobe (i.e., beam) to provide a communication channel to a given aircraft performing the flight plan, and will also cause the required null to be directed toward an undesired signal that may interfere with the communication channel of the on-board radio performing the flight plan. However, as discussed above, if the lobes and nulls cause "collisions" in the antenna, the antenna may not provide the required lobes and nulls. As discussed above, "collision" may refer to an antenna failing to provide the required lobes and nulls to all aircraft within the coverage area of the base station without causing cross-channel interference between the lobes and nulls. As described above, beam/null steering antenna 530 may include a plurality of receive and transmit elements that are directed in particular directions to provide lobes and nulls to particular geographic locations based on whether a particular signal is a desired signal or an undesired signal. In one or more examples, when the antenna receives instructions where to provide a lobe and where to provide a null, it can process the instructions and determine which elements are pointing in what direction and which should provide a lobe and which should provide a null. As part of this determination, the antenna may assign nulls and lobes and their directions to each individual element on the antenna. To avoid cross-channel interference, the antennas may assign these elements in such a way that the transmitted lobes and nulls will not cross paths with each other. In other words, the antenna may assign each element such that a lobe or null of an element's transmission will not intersect another lobe or null of the transmission by another element.

Thus, in one or more examples, and at step 606, digital twinning 504 can determine whether a given flight plan can be performed by an antenna in a manner that does not result in collisions between beams. This determination at step 606 may be based on the current flight plan being evaluated, other received flight plans that will traverse the airspace during the course of the current flight plan, and the location of known sources of interference that will occur during execution of the flight plan. While the system may have an RF availability determined at step 604, the RF availability may be dependent on the assumption that: the antenna is able to supply the required zero and lobes to the aircraft and the source of interference correctly during operation of the flight plan. At step 606, the process 600 may determine whether the assumption is valid.

Once the check for antenna availability is made at step 606, the process 600 may move to step 608 where it is determined whether the flight plan received at step 602 causes a conflict in antennas. If a conflict is determined to exist at step 608, the process 600 may move to step 610, where the operator of the system may be alerted of the conflict, and further alerted: the flight plan will be required to be adjusted to avoid the conflict determined at step 606. However, if it is determined at step 608 that there is no conflict, the process 600 may move to step 612 where the flight plan is transmitted to the spectrum management system 522. In one or more examples, spectrum management system 522 may transmit the flight plan to ground station controller 524, which ground station controller 524 (as described in further detail below) may transmit the flight plan to a beam/null steering antenna so that the antenna may use this information during operation of the antenna.

Returning to the example of fig. 6, in one or more examples, pilot 502 may be notified that their flight plan must be changed in order to provide aircraft 536 and pilot 502 with the communication channels needed during flight if it is determined via one or more dynamic link budgets and/or antenna availability that a given flight plan may not be able to maintain a reliable communication channel throughout its flight. In one or more examples, if it is determined that the flight plan is serviceable, in one or more examples of the present disclosure, one or more particular RF spectrum channels allocated to a flight from the pool of traffic channels may be cross-referenced against a dynamic interference and coexistence prediction tool 512 ("interference tool") to determine whether a particular frequency allocated to the flight is likely to interfere with or be interfered with by another flight in the network as described above. In one or more examples, the interference tool 512 may be configured to calculate known co-channel interference that may occur during flight. In one or more examples, co-channel interference may be caused by other remote radios operating in the network, which may be geographically and highly distributed over a geographic coverage area that a given flight will traverse based on its flight plan. If it is determined that a given channel allocation will cause co-channel interference, in one or more examples, digital twinning 354 may select another channel or channels from the pool of traffic channels and analyze the allocated channels using interference tool 512 to determine if the channel will be reliable and available throughout the flight plan transmitted by pilot 502. In one or more examples, the spectrum management system may use the interference tool 512 to set one or more exclusion zones (i.e., zones where aircraft is not allowed to fly). Further, the spectrum management system may set one or more exclusion zones based on various regulatory requirements, interference, point-to-point operation, and alternative technical operations including satellite or terrestrial communication networks.

Thus, as described above, dynamic link budget 508 (along with dynamic RF coverage prediction tool 510) may be configured to determine whether a given flight plan will have RF coverage at all points and times during the flight plan, while interference tool 512 may be configured to ensure that channels allocated from traffic channel pool 514 are not interfered with by deleterious amounts during flight. As described above, if the dynamic link budget 508 or the interference tool 512 determines that a reliable RF link cannot be established during flight, or that a channel that meets the needs of the flight plan is not available during the proposed time of flight, the digital twinner 504 can inform the pilot 502 that the flight plan needs to be adjusted, in one or more examples.

As described above, digital twinning 504 may be responsible for allocating spectrum and planning operations for a flight before the flight occurs. However, the actual operation of the communication channel may be handled by a separate spectrum management system 522. In one or more examples, the digital twinning 504 and the spectrum management system 504 may be implemented as a single system. Alternatively, the digital twinning 504 and the spectrum management system 522 may be implemented as separate systems. In one or more examples of the present disclosure, spectrum management system 522 may be responsible for managing all communication links operating in a given communication network. Because the spectrum management system 522 operates in real-time and decisions must be made that may affect multiple communication links, in one or more examples, it may be advantageous to implement the digital twinning 504 and the spectrum management system 522 on separate systems so that the operation of the digital twinning 304 will not affect the speed at which the spectrum management system 322 performs its operations.

In one or more examples, and as described below, spectrum management 522 may be responsible for implementing and managing communication links for all flights in a given aviation communication network. Thus, once the spectrum request is acknowledged by the digital twinning 504, performing and assigning communication channels using the allocated one or more channels may be performed on the spectrum management system 522.

As described above, the spectrum management system 522 may be responsible for not only implementing all communication channels between pilots 502 and flights 536 in a given communication network, but also for monitoring links in real-time to ensure that they are operating as they require during a flight. To perform its implementation and monitoring tasks, in one or more examples, the spectrum management system 522 may communicate with each base station 526 of the communication network via the base station controller 524 described above with respect to fig. 1 and 4. In one or more examples of the present disclosure, each base station in the network may include one or more components and tools to assist the spectrum management system 522 in establishing and monitoring communication links in real-time as the aircraft 536 traverses the coverage area of the base station. Base station controller 524 may be communicatively coupled to the base station controller to access the components and tools required to implement and monitor the communication links that the spectrum management system is responsible for establishing and maintaining, such as one or more antenna elements and tools used to monitor the RF environment of a given base station.

In one or more examples of the present disclosure, the spectrum management system 522 may access and control a spectrum monitoring device 528 located at each base station 526 in the communication network. In one or more examples, the spectrum monitoring device may include one or more hardware components (such as antennas and sensors) that are collectively configured to monitor the RF environment of the base station 526. The spectrum monitoring device may be located at each base station in the communication network and may be configured to: for interference, the active RF environment of the base station is continuously measured.

Fig. 7 illustrates an exemplary spectrum monitoring device according to an example of the present disclosure. In one or more examples, spectrum monitoring device 704 can be implemented in base station controller 524, which base station controller 524 can communicate information about the spectrum to digital twinning and spectrum management updates to automatically and in real-time update the geofence managed by the spectrum management system. The base station controller 524 may be communicatively coupled (e.g., via a coaxial cable connection) to one or more tower-mounted monitoring antennas 702, which antennas 702 may act as sensors for the spectrum monitoring device to monitor the RF environment of the base station. In one or more examples, the spectrum monitoring device 704 may include a software defined receiver 706 that may be configured to receive and process RF signals received by the tower-mounted monitoring antenna 702. The software-defined receiver may be used by one or more components of the spectrum monitoring device 704 to perform the analysis required to monitor the RF environment of the base station.

In one or more examples, the spectrum monitoring device 704 can include a noise floor monitoring component 608 configured to measure a noise floor of a base station. In one or more examples of the present disclosure, the spectrum monitoring device 704 can include an undesired signal detection component 710 configured to detect any RF signals that are undesired at the base station. In one or more examples, spectrum management system 522 may learn about active RF signals that a base station should see based on flights operating at the base station. Thus, in one or more examples, the undesired signal detection component 710 may be configured to: it is determined whether there is any RF energy in the base station's RF coverage area that should not exist and that may potentially act as undesirable external interference to one or more communication links implemented at the base station by spectrum management system 522.

In addition to detecting undesired RF signals, the spectrum monitoring device 704 may also include a direction/power detection component 712 that may detect the exact power and direction of the undesired signals. As described in detail below, the base station may include a beam steering antenna that may be utilized to minimize or eliminate unwanted and potentially interfering RF signals. Thus, the direction/power detection component 712 can be utilized to determine what power and direction the undesired signal is coming from, and a beam steering antenna can be utilized to eliminate or minimize the undesired signal.

In one or more examples, the spectrum monitoring device 704 can include an RF signature database 714. The RF signature database 714 may allow the spectrum monitoring device to compare any identified and undesired RF signals to a database of known RF signatures for identification. In one or more examples, if an RF signature of an undesired interferer (such as a malicious user that is using the spectrum without permission) can be identified using the RF signature database, the event can be reported to a regulatory agency to take possible action against the malicious user.

In one or more examples, spectrum management system 522 may utilize data generated by spectrum monitoring device 704 to adjust one or more communication channels for which it is responsible in order to ensure that each communication link performs to its desired level of performance. Referring back to fig. 5, and as described above, the base station 526 can include one or more beam steering antenna assemblies 530 configured to mitigate or eliminate unwanted RF signals from the coverage area of the base station. In one or more examples, the RF interference may come from known sources of interference, such as high-altitude aircraft flying through a nearby airspace, or from non-cooperative sources, such as malicious users that do not use the RF spectrum. As a defense against these types of interference, in one or more examples, the base station 526 may include a beam/null-forming steerable antenna 530 that may direct a null toward the source of interference and operate to eliminate or significantly reduce interference that the source of interference may have on an aircraft operating at the base station.

In one or more examples, beam/null steering antenna 530 may use flight plan information submitted by pilots to spectrum management system 522 to assign antenna resources in a predefined, collision-canceling manner that reduces interference. In one or more examples, and as described in further detail below, beam/null steering antenna 530 may use a flight plan submitted to spectrum management system 522 to direct a beam (i.e., lobe) to a desired on-board radio signal and null to an undesired on-board radio. In one or more examples, and as described in further detail below, beam/null steering antenna 530 may use flight plan information received from the spectrum management system to track both desired and undesired signals in its network to ensure that the configuration of the antenna is updated in real-time in order to optimize performance of the communication link served by the antenna.

Fig. 8 illustrates an exemplary process for operating a beam/null steering antenna using flight plan information according to an example of the present disclosure. In one or more examples, process 800 of fig. 8 may be performed at a beam/null steering antenna (such as the antennas described above with respect to fig. 2-3). Process 800 is described above in the context of the spectrum management system described above with respect to fig. 5. However, the context should not be considered limiting, and in one or more examples, process 800 may be implemented using antennas that operate in a different context than the example provided in fig. 5.

In one or more examples, the process 800 of fig. 8 may begin at step 802 where an antenna receives flight plan information. As described above, as part of the spectrum management system process, pilots may transmit their flight plans to spectrum management system 522, the spectrum management system 522 may verify that RF availability exists for the flight plan, and that antennas may accommodate the flight plan without conflict, and the spectrum management system 522 (through digital twinning 504) may allocate one or more RF spectrum channels to the aircraft for its flight. In one or more examples, spectrum management system 522 may transmit the flight plan to ground base station controller 524, which ground base station controller 524 may in turn relay the information to beam/null steering antenna 530 at step 802. As described above, the flight plan may include flight mission details such as the expected timing, altitude, position, and speed of the aircraft. The flight plan information provided to the beam/null steering antenna at step 802 may include flight plan information for desired signals (i.e., aircraft using the base station to communicate with the ground) as well as flight plans for known undesired signals (i.e., signals that are traversing other base stations but may still interfere with the desired signal in the current coverage area). In one or more examples, the spectrum management system 522 may transmit an indication of which signals are desired (and thus should receive beams/lobes) and which signals are undesired (and thus should receive null signals) in addition to the flight plan for both desired and undesired signals.

In one or more examples, once flight plan information for one or more on-board radios is received at step 802, process 800 may move to step 804 where real-time signal information is provided to an antenna. In one or more examples, the beam/null steering antenna may be configured to provide a beam and null only when a signal from an on-board radio is detected. Thus, in one or more examples, at step 804, the antenna may receive signal information indicating that an on-board radio has been detected in the coverage area of the antenna. In one or more examples, the antenna itself may receive the signal information, or alternatively, the signal information may be provided by a spectrum monitoring device 528, which spectrum monitoring device 528 may be configured to monitor the RF spectrum of the coverage area of the base station, as described above. As an example, if the flight turns on its on-board radio (e.g., prior to takeoff), the spectrum monitoring device or the antenna itself may detect the presence of the signal and collect information at step 804.

As described above with respect to step 802, the beam/null steering antenna may receive a priori knowledge of the desired and undesired signals and their flight plans. In one or more examples, using the flight plan information, the beam/null steering antenna may determine whether the signal detected at step 804 is a known desired signal, a known undesired signal, or an unknown undesired signal. In one or more examples, the signal received at step 804 may be cross-referenced with the flight plan received at step 802 to determine whether the received signal belongs to one of the flight plans that have been received at the beam/null steering antenna at step 802. For example, if pilots who have submitted a flight plan to spectrum management turn on their radio prior to take off, the spectrum monitoring device may detect the radio and send signal information to the beam/null steering antenna. The beam/null steering antenna may use the flight plan information to determine that the signal is a known desired signal and may schedule resources to direct the beam/lobe to a target direction at the current location of the aircraft at the discretion of the antenna (i.e., the receiving and transmitting elements).

In one or more examples, and as shown at step 806, process 800 may determine whether the signal received at step 804 matches the expected location of a known expected signal (i.e., an aircraft performing its registered flight plan). If at step 806, the beam/null steering antenna determines that the signal received at step 804 is a desired known signal, then in one or more examples, the beam/null steering antenna may direct a beam (i.e., lobe) to the location of the signal, as shown at step 808. In one or more examples, the beam/null steering antenna may set an Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) of the beam based on an estimated or measured distance of the signal location. For example, the EIRP of beam/null steering antenna transmissions may be directly proportional to the estimated/measured signal strength, and thus, if the signal is farther away, the antenna may transmit at a higher EIRP than if the signal is nearer to the antenna. In one or more examples, the distance between the signal and the antenna may be based on a flight plan corresponding to the signal and/or signal information received at step 804. In one or more examples, the beam/null forming antenna may implement automatic gain control to control the EIRP of the signal, not only to adjust the EIRP based on the distance of the aircraft (i.e., the signal), but also to adjust the EIRP based on the characteristics of the radio to which it is transmitting the signal (i.e., the on-board radio). In one or more examples, the beam/null antenna may use automatic gain control to ensure that a particular on-board radio receives a consistent EIRP at its receiver throughout the duration of its flight, and that power will not fluctuate based on the distance of the on-board radio from the beam/null antenna.

In one or more examples, instead of the base station having a fixed RF power amplifier that can be shared among the various channels (i.e., beams), each individual beam (i.e., RF channel) can have its own RF power amplifier, each beam can use automatic gain control to transmit less power to the aircraft if the aircraft is near the base station and more power to the aircraft if the aircraft is farther from the base station. In one or more examples, by allowing the beam/null forming antennas to transmit at lower power when the aircraft is close, the likelihood that a particular beam will interfere with another beam is reduced. For example, reducing the power of a first beam may reduce the carrier to interference and noise ratio (CINR) (e.g., SNR) of a beam transmitted at the same frequency to another aircraft at an adjacent ground station.

In one or more examples, once the beam/null steering antenna directs the beam to the signal in response to determining that the signal is a known desired signal, the process 800 may move to step 810 where the flight plan of the known desired signal is used to allow the antenna to track the signal (i.e., move the lobe of the antenna with the movement of the flight). By using the flight plan, the beam/null steering antenna can be made aware of at any time where all of the on-board radios in the network are located or expected to be located in the network, including deviations that may be necessary based on updated/revised/additional flight plan files-which may occur in real-time based on an indication of air traffic control. This allows planning and assignment of traffic channels to include the benefits obtained by using beam/null steering antennas by ensuring that the on-board radio is at a predefined location, thereby maximizing the efficiency of the antenna system.

In one or more examples, to track the flight, the antenna may collect real-time telemetry information from the on-board radio it is tracking and compare the telemetry information to the flight plan to ensure that the beam is tracking the on-board radio to its actual location. In one or more examples, telemetry of the position and altitude of the aircraft may also be provided by external resources, such as GPS, enhanced RTK GPS, and alternative GPS based on triangulation of multiple ground-based navigation beacons, aircraft barometers, and radar altimeters.

Returning to the example of fig. 8, if it is determined at step 806 that the signal received at step 804 is not a known desired signal, the process may move to step 812 where it is determined whether the received signal is a known undesired signal. As described above, the beam/null steering antenna may receive flight plan information about the desired signal and information about the undesired sources of interference. If it is determined that the signal received at step 804 is not a known desired signal, then at step 812, the process 800 may examine the signal against a flight plan of known undesired signals to determine if the received signal is a known undesired signal. In one or more examples, if it is determined at step 812 that the signal received at step 804 is a known undesired signal, process 800 may move to step 814 where the antenna may direct a null to the signal in order to minimize interference that it may cause to the known desired signal in the network. In one or more examples, once the beam/null steering antenna directs the null toward the signal in response to determining that the signal is a known undesired signal, the process 800 may move to step 816 where a flight plan of the known undesired signal is used to allow the antenna to track the signal (i.e., move the null of the antenna with the movement of the flight).

However, if at step 812 the antenna determines that the signal received at step 804 is neither a known desired signal nor a known undesired signal, then process 800 may move to step 818 where the antenna may transmit a null to the location of the signal. In one or more examples of the present disclosure, if a signal is not identified as a known signal (desired or undesired) because the signal does not match any flight plan received by the antenna at step 802, the beam/null steering antenna may assume that the signal is an undesired signal and may take appropriate steps to minimize interference that the signal may cause to a known desired signal in the network. Thus, in one or more examples, at step 818, the antenna may direct the null at the signal location of the unknown undesired signal to mitigate any interference that may be caused by the signal.

In one or more examples, in addition to directing nulls to the unknown signal, the null/beam steering antenna may also react to an unknown co-channel interferer by tracking the null signal with an unknown on-board radio. In one or more examples, the beam/null steering antenna may also send an alert to the spectrum monitoring system 528 at step 820 so that the spectrum monitoring signal may identify the signal source by its RF signature and record the unknown signal, as described above with respect to fig. 5. In one or more examples, the signal monitor may determine the RF signature and other information about the unknown signal so that the source of interference may be identified and located for quick resolution. The example of fig. 8 is described with respect to a beam/null steering antenna located on a base station, but the example should not be considered limiting and the above-described methods and techniques may also be applied to beam/null steering antennas located on the aircraft itself.

Fig. 9 illustrates an example beam steering antenna system according to examples of this disclosure. Fig. 9 illustrates an exemplary beam steering antenna system in the context of a communication network 900 to better show the features of the system. In one or more examples, the communication network 900 can include two separate base stations 908 and 904. In one or more examples, the base station 908 can transmit the desired signal 914 to the aircraft 906 that is traversing the coverage area of the base station 908. In the example of fig. 9, the base station 908 is illustrated as transmitting an RF signal of 459.825 MHz. In one or more examples, as shown in the figures, the aircraft 906 may fly at a height of 25,000 feet.

In one or more examples, communication system 900 can also include a base station 904 that operates in a coverage area adjacent to a coverage area of base station 908. In one or more examples, the base station 904 can transmit the desired signal 912 to the aircraft 902 traversing its own coverage area while the aircraft 906 transmits the signal to the coverage area of the base station 908. In the example of fig. 9, aircraft 902 is shown flying at 1,200 feet and communicating with base station 904 using an RF channel centered at 459.825MHz, which is the same frequency that aircraft 906 is using to communicate with its corresponding base station 908.

As shown in fig. 9, although aircraft 906 operates at a different base station than aircraft 902, its communication with base station 908 may interfere with the communication of aircraft 902 with its base station 902. In one or more examples, due to its relatively high altitude, the desired signal 914 of the base station 908 (which is directed to the aircraft 906) may be considered by the base station 904 as a form of undesired signal 910. Because the undesired signal 910 is caused by communication between the base station 908 and the aircraft 906, the undesired signal 910 may be at 459.825MHz, which is the same frequency as the signal 912 between the aircraft 902 and the base station 904. Thus, undesired signal 910 may cause interference to desired signal 912.

In one or more examples, using the spectrum monitoring apparatus described above with respect to fig. 7 and a base station link monitoring tool (described in detail below), the spectrum management system 522 knowledge of all known on-board radios on the network can verify or detect the presence of known or unknown unwanted signals 910 and form a steering antenna 916 with the beam/nulls of the tower mounted to the base station 904 to significantly reduce or eliminate the unwanted signals 910 from the RF spectrum environment of the aircraft 902. In one or more examples, the beam/null forming steerable antenna 916 may be configured as a steerable antenna that may be directed in the direction of the undesired signals. In one or more examples, beam/null forming steering antenna 916 may be implemented as a phased array antenna with beam forming functionality that may be configured to transmit RF energy in a particular desired direction. In one or more examples, the direction of the beam may be controlled by a base station controller connected to the base station 904 or directly by the spectrum management system 522.

In one or more examples, if the spectrum management system 522 detects an undesired signal at a particular base station in the network, the spectrum management system 522 may use a spectrum monitoring device to determine the direction of the signal as well as the power of the signal (e.g., through use of the direction/power detection component 612). Once the spectrum management system 522 determines the power and direction of the undesired signals, it may relay information to the beam steering antenna 916 to form nulls in the direction of the undesired signals and introduce noise cancellation techniques, such as continuous noise cancellation and multi-user detection techniques, together, which may significantly reduce the effects of the undesired signals in the RF coverage area of the base station 904.

Referring back to fig. 5, in one or more examples, the base station 526 includes base station link monitoring functionality 532 in addition to the spectrum monitoring device 528 and the beam/null forming steering antenna 530. In one or more examples, the base station link monitoring functionality 532 monitors each individual link assigned at the base station 526 by the spectrum management system 522. While the spectrum monitoring functionality 528 is configured to monitor all active radio links of the base station 526 individually, and the spectrum management system 522 may be updated in real-time to verify and adjust individual link prediction performance and utilization of the aircraft and operators as needed.

In one or more examples, if spectrum management system 522 detects conditions or interference for all communication links in the network, it may operate to mitigate any degradation in performance by: adjusting the dynamic link budget, updating the dynamic RF coverage predictions, implementing beam/null forming steering antenna capabilities to apply nulls at detected interferers, and informing the operator of any coverage changes. However, in one or more examples, if the spectrum management system 522 is unable to mitigate the situation through the techniques described above, the spectrum management system 522 may change the RF spectrum channel allocations of individual aircraft in the network in order to find a more favorable communication channel for use. Thus, in one or more examples, a base station may include one or more subchannels and resource blocks 534 reserved by the system for allocation to aircraft in flight that may experience service problems and require changing their frequencies.

As described above, spectrum management system 522 may establish and monitor communication links for the duration of a flight and have the ability to take action when a reliable and continuous communication link is compromised during the flight. In combination with digital twinning 504, the overall system may plan a communication channel for the flight, implement communication for the flight, and respond to problems with the communication link for the flight during the flight.

Fig. 10 illustrates an example of a computing system 1000, which system 1000 may be a client or server in accordance with some embodiments. As shown in fig. 10, the system 1000 may be any suitable type of processor-based system, such as a personal computer, workstation, server, handheld computing device (portable electronic device) such as a telephone or tablet, or a dedicated device. The system 1000 may include, for example, one or more of an input device 1020, an output device 1030, one or more processors 1010, storage 1040, and a communication device 1060. The input device 1020 and the output device 1030 may generally correspond to those described above and may be connected to or integrated with a computer.

The input device 1020 may be any suitable device that provides input, such as a touch screen, keyboard or keypad, mouse, gesture recognition component of a virtual/augmented reality system, or voice recognition device. The output device 1030 may be or include any suitable device that provides output, such as a display, touch screen, haptic device, virtual/augmented reality display, or speaker.

Storage 1040 may be any suitable device that provides storage, such as an electronic, magnetic, or optical memory including RAM, cache, hard disk drive, removable storage disk, or other non-transitory computer-readable medium. Communication device 1060 may include any suitable device capable of transmitting and receiving signals over a network, such as a network interface chip or device. The components of computing system 1000 may be connected in any suitable manner, such as via a physical bus or wirelessly.

The processor(s) 1010 may be any suitable processor or combination of processors, including a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). The software 1050 that may be stored in the storage 1040 and executed by the one or more processors 1010 may include, for example, a program embodying the functionality of the present disclosure or portions of the functionality (e.g., as embodied in the devices described above).

The software 1050 may also be stored and/or transmitted within any non-transitory computer readable storage medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as those described above, that can fetch the instructions associated with the software from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. In the context of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium may be any medium, such as storage 1040, that can contain or store programming for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

The software 1050 may also be propagated within any transmission medium used by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as those described above, which can fetch the instructions associated with the software from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. In the context of this disclosure, a transmission medium may be any medium that can communicate, propagate, or transport programming for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Transmitting computer readable media can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or infrared wired or wireless propagation media.

The system 1000 may be connected to a network, which may be any suitable type of interconnected communication system. The network may implement any suitable communication protocol and may be secured by any suitable security protocol. The network may include any suitably arranged network link, such as a wireless network connection, T1 or T3 line, wired network, DSL, or telephone line, that enables transmission and reception of network signals.

The system 1000 may implement any operating system suitable for operating on a network. The software 1050 may be written in any suitable programming language, such as C, C ++, java, or Python. In various embodiments, application software embodying the functionality of the present disclosure may be deployed in different configurations, such as in a client/server arrangement or as a Web-based application or Web service through a Web browser.

The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the technology and its practical application. Thereby enabling others skilled in the art to best utilize the technology and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. For purposes of clarity and conciseness of description, features herein are described as part of the same or separate embodiments; however, it is to be understood that the scope of the present disclosure includes embodiments having a combination of all or some of the features described.

Although the present disclosure and examples have been fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as included within the scope of the present disclosure and examples as defined by the appended claims. Finally, the entire disclosures of the patents and publications cited in this application are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. A method for operating a beam and null steerable antenna, the method comprising:

receiving one or more flight plans, wherein each of the one or more flight plans includes timing, location, and altitude information for flights to be flown in one or more coverage areas of an aviation communication network;

receiving signal information, wherein the signal information includes location information of signals transmitted in the one or more coverage areas of the aerial communication network;

determining whether the received signal information matches a flight plan of the one or more received flight plans;

if it is determined that the received signal information matches one of the one or more received flight plans:

Operating one or more elements of the antenna to transmit a signal to a location indicated by the location information of the received signal information; and

the signal is tracked with the one or more elements of the antenna based on the flight plan of the one or more flight plans that matches the received signal information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the flight plan includes information regarding a radio configuration of an aircraft performing the flight plan.

3. The method of claims 1-2, wherein the one or more elements of the antenna operate based on the information about the radio configuration of the aircraft performing the flight plan.

4. A method according to claims 1-3, wherein the flight plan includes information regarding whether an on-board radio associated with the flight plan is a desired signal, and wherein the beam and null steerable antenna are configured to direct an RF beam towards a desired signal in order to maintain a communication link between the on-board radio and the antenna associated with the desired signal.

5. The method of claims 1-4, wherein the flight plan includes information regarding whether an on-board radio associated with the flight plan is an undesired signal, and wherein the beam and null steerable antenna is configured to direct RF nulls toward the undesired signal in order to reduce RF interference caused by the undesired signal.

6. The method of claims 1-5, wherein the signal information is received from a spectrum monitoring device configured to receive and process Radio Frequency (RF) signals received at a monitoring antenna of a base station.

7. The method of claims 1-6, wherein the flight plan includes information regarding whether an on-board radio associated with the flight plan is a desired signal, and wherein determining whether the received signal information matches a flight plan of the one or more received flight plans comprises: a determination is made as to whether the received signal information matches a flight plan for the desired signal.

8. The method of claims 1-7, wherein the method comprises:

if the received signal information matches a flight plan of a desired signal:

the one or more elements of the antenna are operated to transmit an RF beam in a direction associated with the location information of the signals transmitted in the one or more coverage areas of the aerial communication network.

9. The method according to claims 1-8, wherein the method comprises:

if the received signal information matches a flight plan of a desired signal:

The one or more elements of the antenna are operated to track a received signal based on the flight plan of the desired signal determined to match the received signal.

10. The method of claims 1-7, wherein the flight plan includes information regarding whether an on-board radio associated with the flight plan is an undesired signal, and wherein determining whether the received signal information matches a flight plan of the one or more received flight plans comprises: a determination is made as to whether the received signal information matches a flight plan for an undesired signal.

11. The method according to claims 1-10, wherein the method comprises:

if the received signal information matches a flight plan for an undesired signal:

the one or more elements of the antenna are operated to transmit an RF null in a direction associated with the location information of the signals transmitted in the one or more coverage areas of the aerial communication network.

12. The method according to claims 1-11, wherein the method comprises:

The one or more elements of the antenna are operated to track a received signal based on the flight plan of the undesired signal determined to match the received signal.

13. The method of claims 1-10, wherein if the received signal information does not match a flight plan of a desired signal or an undesired signal, the method comprises:

14. The method of claims 1-13, wherein if the received signal information does not match a flight plan of a desired signal or an undesired signal:

the signal information is transmitted to a spectrum monitoring device configured to receive and process Radio Frequency (RF) signals received at a monitoring antenna of the base station, wherein the spectrum monitoring device is configured to determine information associated with an identity of an on-board radio associated with the signal information received from the beam and null steering antenna.

15. The method of claims 1-14, wherein tracking the signal with the one or more elements of the antenna based on the one or more flight plans that match the received signal information comprises: the position of the transmitted signal is adjusted based on the flight plan.

16. A beam and null steerable antenna, the beam and null steerable antenna comprising:

one or more elements configured to receive and transmit RF energy;

a memory;

one or more processors;

wherein the memory stores one or more programs that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

17. The beam and null steerable antenna of claim 16, wherein the flight plan comprises information about a radio configuration of an aircraft performing the flight plan.

18. The beam and null steerable antenna of claims 16-17, wherein the one or more elements of the antenna operate based on the information regarding the radio configuration of the aircraft performing the flight plan.

19. The beam and null-steering antenna of claims 16-18, wherein the flight plan includes information regarding whether an on-board radio associated with the flight plan is a desired signal, and wherein the beam and null-steering antenna is configured to direct an RF beam toward a desired signal in order to maintain a communication link between the on-board radio associated with the desired signal and the antenna.

20. The beam and null-steering antenna of claims 16-19, wherein the flight plan includes information regarding whether an on-board radio associated with the flight plan is an undesired signal, and wherein the beam and null-steering antenna is configured to direct RF nulls toward the undesired signal in order to reduce RF interference caused by the undesired signal.

21. The beam and null-steering antenna of claims 16-20, wherein the signal information is received from a spectrum monitoring device configured to receive and process Radio Frequency (RF) signals received at a monitoring antenna of the base station.

22. The beam and null-steering antenna of claims 16-21, wherein said flight plan includes information regarding whether an on-board radio associated with said flight plan is a desired signal, and wherein determining whether said received signal information matches a flight plan of said one or more received flight plans comprises: a determination is made as to whether the received signal information matches a flight plan for the desired signal.

23. The beam and null steerable antenna of claims 16-22, wherein the one or more processors are caused to:

If the received signal information matches a flight plan of a desired signal:

24. The beam and null steerable antenna of claims 16-23, wherein the one or more processors are caused to:

if the received signal information matches a flight plan of a desired signal:

the one or more elements of the antenna are operated to track the received signal based on the flight plan of the desired signal determined to match the received signal.

25. The beam and null-steering antenna of claims 16-22, wherein said flight plan includes information regarding whether an on-board radio associated with said flight plan is an undesired signal, and wherein determining whether said received signal information matches a flight plan of said one or more received flight plans comprises: a determination is made as to whether the received signal information matches a flight plan for an undesired signal.

26. The beam and null steerable antenna of claims 16-25, wherein the one or more processors are caused to:

27. The beam and null steerable antenna of claims 16-26, wherein the one or more processors are caused to:

the one or more elements of the antenna are operated to track the received signal based on the flight plan of the undesired signal determined to match the received signal.

28. The method of claims 16-25, wherein if the received signal information does not match a flight plan for a desired signal or an undesired signal, causing the one or more processors to:

29. The beam and null steerable antenna of claims 16-28, wherein if the received signal information does not match a flight plan of a desired signal or an undesired signal, causing the one or more processors to:

30. The beam and null-steering antenna of claims 16-29, wherein tracking said signal with said one or more elements of said antenna based on said one or more flight plans matching said received signal information comprises: the position of the transmitted signal is adjusted based on the flight plan.

31. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs for operating a beam and a null steerable antenna, the one or more programs for execution by one or more processors of an electronic device, the one or more programs, when executed by the device, cause the device to:

32. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 31, wherein the flight plan includes information regarding a radio configuration of an aircraft performing the flight plan.

33. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claims 31-32, wherein the one or more elements of the antenna operate based on the information regarding the radio configuration of the aircraft performing the flight plan.

34. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claims 31-33, wherein the flight plan includes information regarding whether an on-board radio associated with the flight plan is a desired signal, and wherein the beam and null steerable antenna are configured to direct an RF beam toward a desired signal in order to maintain a communication link between the on-board radio associated with the desired signal and the antenna.

35. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claims 31-34, wherein the flight plan includes information regarding whether an on-board radio associated with the flight plan is an undesired signal, and wherein the beam and null steerable antenna are configured to direct RF nulls toward the undesired signal in order to reduce RF interference caused by the undesired signal.

36. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claims 31-35, wherein the signal information is received from a spectrum monitoring device configured to receive and process Radio Frequency (RF) signals received at a monitoring antenna of the base station.

37. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claims 31-36, wherein the flight plan includes information regarding whether an on-board radio associated with the flight plan is a desired signal, and wherein determining whether the received signal information matches a flight plan of the one or more received flight plans comprises: a determination is made as to whether the received signal information matches a flight plan for the desired signal.

38. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claims 31-37, wherein the apparatus is caused to:

if the received signal information matches a flight plan of a desired signal:

39. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claims 31-38, wherein the apparatus is caused to:

if the received signal information matches a flight plan of a desired signal:

40. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claims 31-38, wherein the flight plan includes information regarding whether an on-board radio associated with the flight plan is an undesired signal, and wherein determining whether the received signal information matches a flight plan of the one or more received flight plans comprises: a determination is made as to whether the received signal information matches a flight plan for an undesired signal.

41. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claims 31-40, wherein the apparatus is caused to:

42. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claims 31-41, wherein the apparatus is caused to:

43. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claims 31-42, wherein if the received signal information does not match a flight plan for a desired signal or an undesired signal, causing the device to:

44. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claims 31-43, wherein if the received signal information does not match a flight plan for a desired signal or an undesired signal, causing the device to:

45. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claims 31-44, wherein tracking the signal with the one or more elements of the antenna based on the one or more flight plans that match the received signal information comprises: the position of the transmitted signal is adjusted based on the flight plan.