Running head: FEASIBLITY OF USING 4G LTE FOR UAV ASSISTED AVALANCE SEARCH AND RESCUE

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FEASIBILITY STUDY OF UTILIZING 4G LTE SIGNALS IN COMBINATION WITH

UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES FOR THE PURPOSE OF SEARCH AND RESCUE

OF AVALANCHE VICTIMS (INCREMENT 1)

Research Report

Team Members:

Victor Wolfe, William Frobe, Vineetha Shrinivasan, Tsung-Yen Hsieh

Academic Advisor:

Dr. Harvey M. Gates

University of Colorado at Boulder

Author Note:

This research report was prepared for TLEN 5710 Research Capstone, taught by Professor

Reed, spring 2014.

FEASIBLITY OF USING 4G LTE FOR UAV ASSISTED AVALANCE SEARCH AND RESCUE

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Abstract

This research report uses quantitative data and analysis to explore the feasibility of using

Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution devices that are loaded with an application as a device that

can also help save an avalanche victims life. During the research process we explored the idea of

getting an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to the site of an avalanche quicker than the current search and

rescue process as long as the victims have a Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution device plus the

loaded app on them that is reporting their position. Going into this project our research team did not

know how well Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution signals would propagate through snow. The

study of Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution signal propagation through snow was our primary

focus in this project in order to determine if it is even feasible to use a smart phone as an avalanche

rescue beacon.

FEASIBLITY OF USING 4G LTE FOR UAV ASSISTED AVALANCE SEARCH AND RESCUE

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Table of Contents

I) Introduction.....4

i) Research question.....4

ii) Statement of the problem......4

iii) Sub-problems....6

II) Literature review....7

III) Research methodology..14

IV) Research results and discussion........17

V) Discussion of results..20

VI) Conclusions and future research...23

VII) Acknowledgements .24

VIII) References....25

FEASIBLITY OF USING 4G LTE FOR UAV ASSISTED AVALANCE SEARCH AND RESCUE

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Feasibility Study of Utilizing Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution Signals in

Combination with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for the Purpose of Search and Rescue of

Avalanche Victims

I. Introduction

In this research report we will examine the findings of our research capstone project to

locate avalanche victims using a Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution (4G LTE) device

mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). We assume several factors for this research

problem: 1) an avalanche has occurred and someone has been buried, 2) the avalanche victim has a

smart phone with a locator beacon application (app) loaded and on their person, 3) first responders

have been notified of the avalanche and initiated search and rescue (SAR) operations, and 4) first

responders have a 4G LTE locator device, 5) there is 4G LTE cellular service in the search area for

this first phase of research.

During the course of our research we conducted several tests with 4G LTE devices that

yielded quantitative data that has been analyzed by the team and then modeled in the MATLAB

computer program. Throughout this report, we will clearly define our findings with respect to

relevancy in avalanche SAR operations in the future.

Research question, statement of problem, and problem setting

What is the feasibility of using 4G LTE signals for the purpose of assisting in SAR

operations for buried avalanche victims?

FEASIBLITY OF USING 4G LTE FOR UAV ASSISTED AVALANCE SEARCH AND RESCUE

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The problem setting is a common one here in Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. There is

a group of skiers or snowboarders enjoying the miles of backcountry and one of them triggers an

avalanche. Avalanches can be small and localized or can be monumental in scale and catastrophic

to victims engulfed in their fury. In fact, a large avalanche can release 230,000 cubic meters

(300,000 cubic yards) of snow. That is the equivalent of 20 football fields filled 3 meters (10 feet)

deep with snow.[1] When the avalanche has subsided and one or more of the original group of

skiers is unaccounted for, it becomes a real world emergency in which first responders and ski

patrol members are keenly aware. The problem is how do first responders find these victims that

are now under the snow with no trace of where they might be? If there was a way to somehow get

first responders to the exact location of those downed skiers quickly, their lives could be saved and

ultimately the casualty rate for avalanche victims would decrease. The current state-of-the-art

process of avalanche SAR extracts the victim in approximately forty-five minutes. [2]

According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), the chances of survival

are 93% if a victim is rescued within eighteen minutes from the time they are buried under the

snow. [3] The chances of survival are still fair (33%) if found within thirty minutes. The process of

locating and rescuing an avalanche victim has not changed in a few decades. Even in 2014,

avalanche victim SAR is an archaic process of notifying first responders, processing the emergency

call, warming up the helicopter, flying to and locating the scene of the accident then deploying the

SAR professionals. If there was a way for first responders to locate and extract the avalanche

victim in less than the current forty-five minutes, then mortality rates would decline. Two thirds of

avalanche victims will succumb in the critical half hour. [2]

FEASIBLITY OF USING 4G LTE FOR UAV ASSISTED AVALANCE SEARCH AND RESCUE

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Figure 1: Avalanche Survival Curve

Sub-Problems:

Detection

Can 4G LTE signals propagate through snow? If so, how deep and through what

density?

Communication

How will first responders find the victim?

Are there any spectrum issues?

Device access

What communication technologies are widely available that could turn a smartphone

into a beaconing device?

FEASIBLITY OF USING 4G LTE FOR UAV ASSISTED AVALANCE SEARCH AND RESCUE

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II: Literature Review

Since the first aerial photograph was taken using a kite, a camera and a very long string

attached to the shutter-release back in 1883, man has been curious about the possibilities of

unmanned flight. [4] For the purpose of this condensed literature review, we will focus on what is

written about UAV flight as it relates to telecommunications technology used for controlled flight

and capture of images, and what has been published with respect to UAVs and avalanche victims.

We will also review the current state-of-the-art information with respect to what is already known

about avalanche recovery and some of the characteristics associated with 4G LTE that would assist

in direction finding.

The first thing to note is the frequency range of the unmanned Leptron Industrial Robotic

Helicopters (Leptron) that were used in our testing. The Leptron UAV helicopters use the 900MHz

range of frequencies for control, and they also use high tech VSTx video encoder/transmitters that

broadcast multiple 2.5 MHz channels of Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) that is transmitted

at 1.2 5 GHz. [5] Leptron also uses unlicensed 2.4GHz for video transmission back to the UAVs

control panel that controls its video camera. It must also be noted that the types of UAVs the public

can fly recreationally and the ones professional companies such as Leptron produce are quite

different. Leptron helicopters are rugged and are used by public safety organizations throughout the

United States and were even used for event security in Super Bowl XLV in 2011. [6] Leptron

UAVs are built to industrial specifications in their parts, avionics, and communications capacities.

[7]

Military drones such as the MQ-9 Reaper cost millions of dollars and use sophisticated

avionics just like any other military air platform. These highly sophisticated UAVs do not operate

FEASIBLITY OF USING 4G LTE FOR UAV ASSISTED AVALANCE SEARCH AND RESCUE

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on frequencies available to the public, such as the ones listed above, but instead use Ku, C, L, and

S-band satellite frequencies that are encrypted and are received by and processed through a

Compact Multi-band Data Link (CMDL). [8]

There is a small but vibrant community online who are UAV enthusiasts and discuss trends

in UAV flight and video capture technologies. One such online community is www.diydrones.com.

[9] There has been much research on the use of 4G LTE and how it is used to stream the video

back to the UAV controller. However, video streaming is only one feature that 4G LTE technology

allows. In October 2012 Alcatel-Lucent conducted a demonstration and posted it on YouTube

where they flew a small one pound UAV with only a smartphone a distance of 3,280 feet while

streaming video. [10] This was the first instance of documented simultaneous control and

streaming video from a single smartphone device.

Currently the Military is testing a 4G LTE solution code named Jolte