1.
Yan, Hua; Chen, Yunfei
Optimum Distance for In-Flight UAV-to-UAV Wireless Charging Journal Article
In: IEEE Access, vol. 13, pp. 143914–143924, 2025, ISSN: 2169-3536.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Aperture antennas, Autonomous aerial vehicles, Batteries, Energy Efficiency, Energy loss, far-field, Inductive charging, near-field, Receiving antennas, RF signals, Simultaneous wireless information and power transfer, Transmitting antennas, UAV communications, Wireless communication, Wireless communications, wireless power transfer (WPT)
@article{yan_optimum_2025,
title = {Optimum Distance for In-Flight UAV-to-UAV Wireless Charging},
author = {Hua Yan and Yunfei Chen},
url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11123803/},
doi = {10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3598733},
issn = {2169-3536},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-01-01},
urldate = {2025-10-08},
journal = {IEEE Access},
volume = {13},
pages = {143914–143924},
abstract = {Wireless charging is a promising technology for communications using battery-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In this paper, the optimal distance for UAV-to-UAV in-flight wireless charging and communications is studied. Considering the practical applications, two schemes are proposed. In the first scheme, the discharging UAV (D-UAV) and the charged UAV (C-UAV) are aligned during charging, which requires the D-UAV and the C-UAV to remain relatively stationary. In the second scheme, the D-UAV and the C-UAV move during charging. For both schemes, we aim to maximize the received energy at the C-UAV under the condition that the minimum achievable rate for communications is met. Numerical results show that the optimal distance exists in the Fresnel zone. They also show that the optimal distance increases with the charging frequency. This work provides useful guidance for UAV in-flight wireless charging and communications system designs.},
keywords = {Aperture antennas, Autonomous aerial vehicles, Batteries, Energy Efficiency, Energy loss, far-field, Inductive charging, near-field, Receiving antennas, RF signals, Simultaneous wireless information and power transfer, Transmitting antennas, UAV communications, Wireless communication, Wireless communications, wireless power transfer (WPT)},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Wireless charging is a promising technology for communications using battery-powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In this paper, the optimal distance for UAV-to-UAV in-flight wireless charging and communications is studied. Considering the practical applications, two schemes are proposed. In the first scheme, the discharging UAV (D-UAV) and the charged UAV (C-UAV) are aligned during charging, which requires the D-UAV and the C-UAV to remain relatively stationary. In the second scheme, the D-UAV and the C-UAV move during charging. For both schemes, we aim to maximize the received energy at the C-UAV under the condition that the minimum achievable rate for communications is met. Numerical results show that the optimal distance exists in the Fresnel zone. They also show that the optimal distance increases with the charging frequency. This work provides useful guidance for UAV in-flight wireless charging and communications system designs.