Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-to-ground (U2G) channel models play a pivotal role in reliable communications between UAV and ground terminal. This paper proposes a three-dimensional (3D) non-stationary hybrid model including large-scale and small-scale fading for U2G multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) channels. Distinctive channel characteristics under U2G scenarios, i.e., 3D trajectory and posture of UAV, fuselage scattering effect (FSE), and posture variation fading (PVF) are incorporated into the proposed model. The channel parameters, i.e., path loss (PL), shadow fading (SF), path delay, and path angle, are generated incorporating machine learning (ML) and ray tracing (RT) techniques to capture the structure-related characteristics. In order to guarantee the physical continuity of channel parameters such as Doppler phase and path power, the time evolution methods of inter- and intra- stationary intervals are proposed. Key statistical properties, including temporal auto-correction function (ACF), power delay profile (PDP), level crossing rate (LCR), average fading duration (AFD), and stationary interval (SI), are analyzed with the impact of the change of fuselage and posture variation. It is demonstrated that both posture variation and fuselage scattering have crucial effects on channel characteristics. The validity and practicability of the proposed model are verified by comparing the simulation results with the measured ones.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-to-ground (U2G) channel models play a decisive role in the design, optimization, and evaluation of communication systems between UAV and ground terminal. This paper proposes a three-dimensional (3D) model for U2G communication channels, enhanced with ultra-wideband (UWB) features and frequency non-stationarity. This model integrates large-scale and small-scale fading components, introducing bandwidth-dependent path numbers and the UAV posture matrix for realistic scenario representation. It encompasses specific UWB U2G channel phenomena such as the channel hardening, UAV 3D movements, and posture variation effect. The channel parameters, including spatial large-scale parameters (LSPs), bandwidth-correlated path numbers, delay-posture-correlated path power, and frequency-correlated path phase, are generated to capture channel non-stationary characteristics across time and frequency domains. Employing ray-tracing (RT) for the path number and optimization methods for the path delay, the proposed model ensures reliable parameter evolution. The proposed model is assessed through key statistical properties, including space-time-frequency correlation functions, power delay profile, root-mean-square delay spread, Doppler power spectrum density, and the energy variance. It is demonstrated that both posture and bandwidth variations have crucial effects on channel characteristics. The validity and practicability of this research is demonstrated by comparing the simulated outcomes with the measurement data.

A new non-stationary (NS) geometry-based stochastic model (GBSM) is presented for developing and testing the communication systems of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) applications, which considers the three-dimensional (3D) scattering environments and allows 3D velocity as well. In this paper, the proposed GBSM for NS V2V channels allowed 3D velocity variations and was more suitable for actual V2V communications because it provided smoother transitions between the consecutive channel segments. The time-variant channel coefficient and the channel parameters, i.e., Doppler frequencies, path delay and power, angle of arrival (AoA), and angle of departure (AoD), were analyzed and derived. Likewise, the theoretical statistical properties as the probability density function (PDF), the auto-correlation function (ACF), and Doppler power spectral density (DPSD) were also analyzed and derived under the von Mises–Fisher (VMF) distribution. Finally, the theoretical and measured results were well coordinated alongside the implemented results, which confirmed the feasibility of the introduced model along with the theoretical expressions.

The echoes of the radar systems can provide useful information about the target, including range, velocity, shape, and angular direction. Extensive studies have utilized the information of the target to improve system performance, whereas the problem of a favorable closed-form asymptotic approximation of the target’s range information (RI) is seldom investigated. In this paper, we address the problem of obtaining a closed-form asymptotic approximation of the target’s RI in all SNR regions for radar detection systems. The RI is formulated as the mutual information (MI) between the random range and the received signals with complex additive white Gaussian noise (CAWGN). The basis of our scheme is to employ the a posteriori probability density function (PDF) of the range to extract RI from the echoes. We show the a posteriori PDF is a function of the autocorrelation function (ACF) of signal and the cross-correlation function (CCF) of signal-noise. By dividing the integration interval of the a posteriori PDF into the signal-noise interval and noise interval, a closed-form asymptotic approximation of RI is derived based on the probability of range distinguishability and the normalized a posteriori entropies of low and high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The results also reveal an interesting relationship between the RI and the uncertainty of the target. As special cases, the closed-form approximations of RI in low and high SNR are obtained. Moreover, for the problem of slightly looser in medium SNR approximation, a better approximation is derived based on a linear model approach. Numerical results are presented to validate the proposed theory and verify the effectiveness of the proposed approximation.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) empowered vehicular networks are capable of providing flexible radio access, efficient data transmission, and secure driving operation. For these promising applications, the authors focus on channel modelling for UAV‐to‐vehicle (U2V) communications in this paper, which is the very first step for communication system design. Based on geometry and multi‐dimensional mobility patterns, a geometry‐based stochastic model framework for U2V communication is studied. Considering the practical scenario, multipath components (MPCs) are composed of a line‐of‐sight (LoS) path, a ground reflection (GR) path, and several random scattering (SC) paths. Specifically, the movement of a UAV in both three‐dimensional (3D) translational and 3D rotational directions is considered as well as a ground vehicle capable of moving in arbitrary directions with varying velocities. Subsequently, the Doppler shift expressions for various paths and movements are presented individually, incorporating spatial angles. Comprehensive simulation results are examined, illustrating that six‐dimensional (6D) motion exhibits varying effects with linear relative velocity, local angular velocity, and two types of spatial angles. Moreover, channel statistical properties such as temporal auto‐correlation function (TCF) and Doppler power spectral density (PSD) are studied to show the consideration of 6D mobility is indispensable.

Due to its high spectrum efficiency, 64‐amplitude phase‐shift keying (64‐APSK) is one of the primary technologies used in deep space communications and digital video broadcasting through satellite‐second generation. However, 64‐APSK suffers from considerable computational complexity because of the de‐mapping method that it employs. In this study, a low‐complexity de‐mapping method for (4 + 12 + 20 + 28) 64‐APSK is proposed in which we take full advantage of the symmetric characteristics of each symbol mapping. Moreover, we map the detected symbol to the first quadrant and then divide the region in this first quadrant into several partitions to simplify the formula. Theoretical analysis shows that the proposed method requires no operation of exponents and logarithms and involves only multiplication, addition, subtraction, and judgment. Simulation results validate that the time consumption is dramatically decreased with limited degradation of bit error rate performance.