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Future Internet
Volume 17
Issue 7
10.3390/fi17070273
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

An Experimental Tethered UAV-Based Communication System with Continuous Power Supply

by
Veronica Rodriguez
1,
Christian Tipantuña
1,
Diego Reinoso
1,
Jorge Carvajal-Rodriguez
1,
Carlos Egas Acosta
1,
Pablo Proaño
2 and
Xavier Hesselbach
3,*
1
Department of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Networks, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito 170525, Ecuador
2
Department of Industrial Automation and Control, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito 170525, Ecuador
3
Department of Network Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), 08034 Barcelona, Spain
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Future Internet 2025, 17(7), 273; https://doi.org/10.3390/fi17070273
Submission received: 10 May 2025 / Revised: 6 June 2025 / Accepted: 11 June 2025 / Published: 20 June 2025
Versions Notes

Abstract

Ensuring reliable communication in remote or disaster-affected areas is a technical challenge due to unplanned deployment and mobilization, meaning placement difficulties and high operation costs of conventional telecommunications infrastructures. To address this problem, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have emerged as an excellent alternative to provide quick connectivity in remote or disaster-affected regions at a reasonable cost. However, the limited battery autonomy of UAVs restricts their flight service time. This paper proposes a communication system based on a tethered UAV (T-UAV) capable of continuous operation through a wired power network connected to a ground station. The communications system is based on low-cost devices, such as Raspberry Pi platforms, and offers wireless IP telephony services, providing high-quality and reliable communication. Experimental tests assessed power consumption, UAV stability, and data transmission performance. Our results prove that the T-UAV, based on a quadcopter drone, operates stably at 16 V and 20 A, ensuring consistent VoIP communications at a height of 10 m with low latency. These experimental findings underscore the potential of T-UAVs as cost-effective alternatives for extending or providing communication networks in remote regions, emergency scenarios, or underserved areas.
Keywords: unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); tethered UAV; T-UAV; energy management; wireless VoIP; emergency network infrastructure unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); tethered UAV; T-UAV; energy management; wireless VoIP; emergency network infrastructure

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MDPI and ACS Style

Rodriguez, V.; Tipantuña, C.; Reinoso, D.; Carvajal-Rodriguez, J.; Egas Acosta, C.; Proaño, P.; Hesselbach, X. An Experimental Tethered UAV-Based Communication System with Continuous Power Supply. Future Internet 2025, 17, 273. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi17070273

AMA Style

Rodriguez V, Tipantuña C, Reinoso D, Carvajal-Rodriguez J, Egas Acosta C, Proaño P, Hesselbach X. An Experimental Tethered UAV-Based Communication System with Continuous Power Supply. Future Internet. 2025; 17(7):273. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi17070273

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rodriguez, Veronica, Christian Tipantuña, Diego Reinoso, Jorge Carvajal-Rodriguez, Carlos Egas Acosta, Pablo Proaño, and Xavier Hesselbach. 2025. "An Experimental Tethered UAV-Based Communication System with Continuous Power Supply" Future Internet 17, no. 7: 273. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi17070273

APA Style

Rodriguez, V., Tipantuña, C., Reinoso, D., Carvajal-Rodriguez, J., Egas Acosta, C., Proaño, P., & Hesselbach, X. (2025). An Experimental Tethered UAV-Based Communication System with Continuous Power Supply. Future Internet, 17(7), 273. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi17070273

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