Emanuele Pagliari

@article{padafe:2024:taes,

title = {Wi-Fi-Based Real-Time UAV Localization: A Comparative Analysis Between RSSI-Based and FTM-Based Approaches},

author = {Emanuele Pagliari and Luca Davoli and Gianluigi Ferrari},

doi = {10.1109/TAES.2024.3433829},

issn = {1557-9603},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-07-25},

urldate = {2024-01-01},

journal = {IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems},

volume = {60},

number = {6},

pages = {8757-8778},

abstract = {Wi-Fi connectivity for localization purposes has been used for several years in the Internet of Things (IoT) context, where the (general) static nature of IoT devices allows to approximately localize them in known environments with low effort and implementation costs. While the accuracy of Wi-Fi localization for IoT applications can be considered as acceptable, the adoption of Wi-Fi-based localization for (a highly mobile) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has received limited attention. In this article, a low-cost and low-complexity system architecture is proposed and exploited to perform a comparative analysis between two Wi-Fi-based localization approaches: the traditional received signal strength indicator (RSSI) ranging and the more recent fine time measurement (FTM), based on the IEEE 802.11mc amendment. Our goal is to estimate and compare the efficacy of the proposed system for real-time positioning of a static or moving UAV, evaluating the impact of different filtering solutions on the localization accuracy. The obtained results show that FTM-based localization is more accurate, reducing the positioning error by 37% with respect to the RSSI-based positioning approach. Our results also confirm the better overall performance of the FTM-based solution for low-cost localization applications, discussing its limitations, scalability, and advantages as a viable backup positioning solution in (weak or denied) Global Navigation Satellite System-based environments and scenarios.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{padacipafe:2024:iop,

title = {On UAV Terrestrial Connectivity Enhancement through Smart Selective Antennas},

author = {Emanuele Pagliari and Luca Davoli and Giordano Cicioni and Valentina Palazzi and Gianluigi Ferrari},

doi = {10.1088/1742-6596/2716/1/012057},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-03-17},

urldate = {2024-03-17},

journal = {Journal of Physics: Conference Series},

volume = {2716},

number = {1},

pages = {012057},

publisher = {IOP Publishing},

abstract = {Nowadays, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are widely used in heterogeneous contexts and, thanks to a continuous technological evolution, are going to be used for several applications such as, for example, Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. Since in BVLOS flights the UAV and the ground control center may not have a direct visibility with each other, a robust communication system is needed to provide reliable connectivity. Although a cellular (4G/5G) network is the current best candidate to enable BVLOS applications, there are still some limitations to overcome, as 4G (LTE) and 5G (NR) cellular networks are natively designed for terrestrial use. In this paper, we first investigate current cellular communication limitations for UAV-based applications, in particular taking into account both results available in the literature, as well as experimental performance campaigns. Then, a viable solution for mitigating these drawbacks exploiting selective on-board antennas is proposed, whose performance is experimentally investigated with a preliminary prototypical architecture.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{padacipamealrofe:2023:access,

title = {Smart Selective Antennas System (SSAS): Improving 4G LTE Connectivity for UAVs Using Directive Selective Antennas},

author = {Emanuele Pagliari and Luca Davoli and Giordano Cicioni and Valentina Palazzi and Paolo Mezzanotte and Federico Alimenti and Luca Roselli and Gianluigi Ferrari},

doi = {10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3347335},

issn = {2169-3536},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-12-25},

urldate = {2024-01-01},

journal = {IEEE Access},

volume = {12},

pages = {7040-7062},

abstract = {In this paper, the prototypical deployment of a Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) antennas system, denoted as Smart Selective Antennas System (SSAS), aiming at mitigating inter-cell interference effects of cellular networks for in-flight Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), is discussed. In detail, the proposed SSAS is beneficial to increase the communication reliability over existing cellular networks, especially with regard to complex Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drones’ missions and applications. Its deployment is motivated as existing 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular networks (as well as 5G networks) are mainly designed and optimized for terrestrial utilization, thus not taking into account interference effects on flying connected devices. The prototypical implementation of the SSAS has been expedient to conduct multiple experimental flights with a drone at different altitudes, collecting performance results and validating the proposed SSAS as a viable solution for inter-cell interference mitigation.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{padafe:2023:iotj,

title = {Harnessing Communication Heterogeneity: Architectural Design, Analytical Modeling, and Performance Evaluation of an IoT Multi-Interface Gateway},

author = {Emanuele Pagliari and Luca Davoli and Gianluigi Ferrari},

doi = {10.1109/JIOT.2023.3317672},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-09-20},

urldate = {2024-01-01},

journal = {IEEE Internet of Things Journal},

volume = {11},

number = {5},

pages = {8030-8051},

abstract = {Given the massive deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) applications over the last decade, the need for gateways able to efficiently route information flows across multiple heterogeneous networks has emerged, bringing new challenges. Therefore, the design and implementation of IoT gateways is crucial. In this article, with reference to the architecture of a prototypical multi-interface gateway (MIG) (based on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) devices), we evaluate its performance: 1) analytically, through an innovative Markov chain-based model; 2) by simulation, with a Python simulator; and 3) experimentally, through the (starting) COTS device-based prototype. In detail, the MIG is equipped with heterogeneous wireless communication interfaces (namely, LoRaWAN, BLE, cellular 4G Cat. 4, and IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz) and is applicable to multiple IoT scenarios. The obtained simulation and experimental results show the validity of the proposed analytical model. Further improvements of the proposed framework are eventually discussed.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{dapafe:2021:drones,

title = {Hybrid LoRa-IEEE 802.11s Opportunistic Mesh Networking for Flexible UAV Swarming},

author = {Luca Davoli and Emanuele Pagliari and Gianluigi Ferrari},

doi = {10.3390/drones5020026},

issn = {2504-446X},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-06-24},

urldate = {2021-06-24},

journal = {Drones},

volume = {5},

number = {2},

abstract = {Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and small drones are nowadays being widely used in heterogeneous use cases: aerial photography, precise agriculture, inspections, environmental data collection, search-and-rescue operations, surveillance applications, and more. When designing UAV swarm-based applications, a key “ingredient” to make them effective is the communication system (possible involving multiple protocols) shared by flying drones and terrestrial base stations. When compared to ground communication systems for swarms of terrestrial vehicles, one of the main advantages of UAV-based communications is the presence of direct Line-of-Sight (LOS) links between flying UAVs operating at an altitude of tens of meters, often ensuring direct visibility among themselves and even with some ground Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs). Therefore, the adoption of proper networking strategies for UAV swarms allows users to exchange data at distances (significantly) longer than in ground applications. In this paper, we propose a hybrid communication architecture for UAV swarms, leveraging heterogeneous radio mesh networking based on long-range communication protocols—such as LoRa and LoRaWAN—and IEEE 802.11s protocols. We then discuss its strengths, constraints, viable implementation, and relevant reference use cases.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}