ML-Augmented Optimization of LoRa Antennas for Drone Telemetry

A compact printed monopole antenna for drone telemetry communication, operating at 433 MHz, with a gain of 2.2 dBi, is designed. The antenna is fabricated on an FR-4 substrate with dimensions of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.116~\lambda _{0} \times 0.073~\lambd...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pothala Chaya Devi, Ramarakula Madhu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11091312/
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849421306503626752
author Pothala Chaya Devi
Ramarakula Madhu
author_facet Pothala Chaya Devi
Ramarakula Madhu
author_sort Pothala Chaya Devi
collection DOAJ
description A compact printed monopole antenna for drone telemetry communication, operating at 433 MHz, with a gain of 2.2 dBi, is designed. The antenna is fabricated on an FR-4 substrate with dimensions of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.116~\lambda _{0} \times 0.073~\lambda _{0}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and is optimized for long-range communication. A Machine Learning-augmented Optimization (MLaO) method is proposed to reduce the antenna design time compared to traditional electromagnetic simulation techniques. Typically, antenna design involves complex computer simulations like CST and computationally intensive parameter sweeps. However, in this work a surrogate Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model trained on 1080 antenna designs replaces the heavy CST simulations. This ANN model is then coupled with a Simulated Annealing (SA) optimizer to generate antennas with the desired characteristics, reducing the total design time to 57% compared to traditional techniques. Three antenna designs were simulated using MLaO for different long-range (LoRa) frequency bands, with Ata1 (433 MHz) achieved a return loss (S11) of &#x2212;23.3 dB, Ata2 (865 MHz) had an S11 of &#x2212;30.6 dB, and Ata3 (dual band at 433 MHz and 865 MHz) with S11 of &#x2212;15.6 dB and &#x2212;35.4 dB respectively. The fabricated antenna (433 MHz) was mounted on a drone and tested with a 3DR-433 telemetry transceiver, recording an average Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) of &#x2212;57.8 dBm up to 470 m. These results demonstrate the proposed antenna&#x2019;s efficiency, compactness, and the effectiveness of the MLaO approach for fast and accurate antenna design.
format Article
id doaj-art-49fd5b41cfc94266b52fd7fc55295033
institution Kabale University
issn 2169-3536
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher IEEE
record_format Article
series IEEE Access
spelling doaj-art-49fd5b41cfc94266b52fd7fc552950332025-08-20T03:31:30ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362025-01-011313035313036210.1109/ACCESS.2025.359209611091312ML-Augmented Optimization of LoRa Antennas for Drone TelemetryPothala Chaya Devi0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3275-6745Ramarakula Madhu1Department of ECE, Anil Neerukonda Institute of Technology and Sciences, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, IndiaDepartment of ECE, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Kakinada, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, IndiaA compact printed monopole antenna for drone telemetry communication, operating at 433 MHz, with a gain of 2.2 dBi, is designed. The antenna is fabricated on an FR-4 substrate with dimensions of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$0.116~\lambda _{0} \times 0.073~\lambda _{0}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and is optimized for long-range communication. A Machine Learning-augmented Optimization (MLaO) method is proposed to reduce the antenna design time compared to traditional electromagnetic simulation techniques. Typically, antenna design involves complex computer simulations like CST and computationally intensive parameter sweeps. However, in this work a surrogate Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model trained on 1080 antenna designs replaces the heavy CST simulations. This ANN model is then coupled with a Simulated Annealing (SA) optimizer to generate antennas with the desired characteristics, reducing the total design time to 57% compared to traditional techniques. Three antenna designs were simulated using MLaO for different long-range (LoRa) frequency bands, with Ata1 (433 MHz) achieved a return loss (S11) of &#x2212;23.3 dB, Ata2 (865 MHz) had an S11 of &#x2212;30.6 dB, and Ata3 (dual band at 433 MHz and 865 MHz) with S11 of &#x2212;15.6 dB and &#x2212;35.4 dB respectively. The fabricated antenna (433 MHz) was mounted on a drone and tested with a 3DR-433 telemetry transceiver, recording an average Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) of &#x2212;57.8 dBm up to 470 m. These results demonstrate the proposed antenna&#x2019;s efficiency, compactness, and the effectiveness of the MLaO approach for fast and accurate antenna design.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11091312/Design timedroneFR-4LoRaMLaOsurrogate ANN
spellingShingle Pothala Chaya Devi
Ramarakula Madhu
ML-Augmented Optimization of LoRa Antennas for Drone Telemetry
IEEE Access
Design time
drone
FR-4
LoRa
MLaO
surrogate ANN
title ML-Augmented Optimization of LoRa Antennas for Drone Telemetry
title_full ML-Augmented Optimization of LoRa Antennas for Drone Telemetry
title_fullStr ML-Augmented Optimization of LoRa Antennas for Drone Telemetry
title_full_unstemmed ML-Augmented Optimization of LoRa Antennas for Drone Telemetry
title_short ML-Augmented Optimization of LoRa Antennas for Drone Telemetry
title_sort ml augmented optimization of lora antennas for drone telemetry
topic Design time
drone
FR-4
LoRa
MLaO
surrogate ANN
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11091312/
work_keys_str_mv AT pothalachayadevi mlaugmentedoptimizationofloraantennasfordronetelemetry
AT ramarakulamadhu mlaugmentedoptimizationofloraantennasfordronetelemetry