{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,21]],"date-time":"2026-02-21T20:19:02Z","timestamp":1771705142382,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"23","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,5]],"date-time":"2020-12-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1607126400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012149","name":"National Key Scientific Instrument and Equipment Development Project","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["No.61827801"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No.61827801"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012149","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"CEMEE State Key Laboratory fund","award":["No.2020Z0207B"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No.2020Z0207B"]}]},{"name":"National Defense Science and Technology Key Laboratory fund","award":["No.6142001190105"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No.6142001190105"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004750","name":"Aeronautical Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["No.201901052001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No.201901052001"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004750","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012226","name":"Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["No.NS2020026 and No.NS2020063."],"award-info":[{"award-number":["No.NS2020026 and No.NS2020063."]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012226","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Considering the three-dimensional (3D) trajectory, 3D antenna array, and 3D beamforming of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a novel non-stationary millimeter wave (mmWave) geometry-based stochastic model for UAV to vehicle communication channels is proposed. Based on the analysis results of measured and ray tracing simulation data of UAV mmWave communication links, the proposed parametric channel model is constructed by a line-of-sight path, a ground specular path, and two strongest single-bounce paths. Meanwhile, a new parameter computation method is also developed, which is divided into the deterministic (or geometry-based) part and the random (or empirical) part. The simulated power delay profile and power angle profile demonstrate that the statistical properties of proposed channel model are time-variant with respect to the scattering scenarios, positions and beam direction. Moreover, the simulation results of autocorrelation functions fit well with the theoretical ones as well as the measured ones.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s20236957","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,7]],"date-time":"2020-12-07T21:37:42Z","timestamp":1607377062000},"page":"6957","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":20,"title":["A Geometry-Based Beamforming Channel Model for UAV mmWave Communications"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Kai","family":"Mao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"The Key Laboratory of Dynamic Cognitive System of Electromagnetic Spectrum Space, College of Electronic and Information Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211106, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4995-5970","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Qiuming","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Key Laboratory of Dynamic Cognitive System of Electromagnetic Spectrum Space, College of Electronic and Information Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211106, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8183-9139","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maozhong","family":"Song","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Key Laboratory of Dynamic Cognitive System of Electromagnetic Spectrum Space, College of Electronic and Information Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211106, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Boyu","family":"Hua","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Key Laboratory of Dynamic Cognitive System of Electromagnetic Spectrum Space, College of Electronic and Information Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211106, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Weizhi","family":"Zhong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Key Laboratory of Dynamic Cognitive System of Electromagnetic Spectrum Space, College of Astronautics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211106, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xijuan","family":"Ye","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Key Laboratory of Dynamic Cognitive System of Electromagnetic Spectrum Space, College of Electronic and Information Engineering, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 211106, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2327","DOI":"10.1109\/JPROC.2019.2952892","article-title":"Accessing from the sky: A tutorial on UAV communications for 5G and beyond","volume":"107","author":"Zeng","year":"2019","journal-title":"Proc. IEEE"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2241","DOI":"10.1109\/JIOT.2018.2887086","article-title":"UAV communications for 5G and beyond: Recent advances and future trends","volume":"6","author":"Li","year":"2018","journal-title":"IEEE Internet Things J."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117460","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2019.2929241","article-title":"A survey on 5G millimeter wave communications for UAV-assisted wireless networks","volume":"7","author":"Zhang","year":"2019","journal-title":"IEEE Access"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"37","DOI":"10.23919\/JCC.2019.10.002","article-title":"MmWave beamforming for UAV communications with unstable beam pointing","volume":"16","author":"Zhong","year":"2019","journal-title":"China Commun."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"58","DOI":"10.1016\/j.phycom.2019.02.007","article-title":"Adaptive beam design for UAV network with uniform plane array","volume":"34","author":"Zhong","year":"2019","journal-title":"Phys. Commun."},{"key":"ref_6","first-page":"1","article-title":"A survey of air-to-ground propagation channel modeling for unmanned aerial vehicles","volume":"34","author":"Khawaja","year":"2020","journal-title":"IEEE Commun. Surv. Tutor."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1654","DOI":"10.1109\/JIOT.2018.2874816","article-title":"A 3-D geometry-based stochastic model for UAV-MIMO wideband non-stationary channels","volume":"6","author":"Cheng","year":"2018","journal-title":"IEEE Internet Things J."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1804","DOI":"10.1109\/LAWP.2019.2930547","article-title":"Measurement-based modeling and analysis of UAV air-ground channels at 1 and 4 GHz","volume":"18","author":"Cui","year":"2019","journal-title":"IEEE Antennas Wirel. Propag. Lett."},{"key":"ref_9","unstructured":"Chu, X., Briso, C., He, D., Yin, X., and Dou, J. (2018, January 9\u201313). Channel modeling for low-altitude UAV in suburban environments based on ray tracer. Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP 2018), London, UK."},{"key":"ref_10","first-page":"89","article-title":"Channel modeling and performance analysis for UAV relay systems","volume":"15","author":"Chen","year":"2018","journal-title":"China Commun."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Goddemeier, N., and Wietfeld, C. (2015, January 6\u201310). Investigation of air-to-air channel characteristics and a UAV specific extension to the Rice model. Proceedings of the IEEE Globecom Workshops (GC Wkshps), San Diego, CA, USA.","DOI":"10.1109\/GLOCOMW.2015.7414180"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100724","DOI":"10.1016\/j.phycom.2019.100724","article-title":"Wireless powered UAV relay communications over fluctuating two-ray fading channels","volume":"35","author":"Zheng","year":"2019","journal-title":"Phys. Commun."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"70719","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2019.2919790","article-title":"A 3D non-stationary wideband GBSM for low-altitude UAV-to-ground V2V MIMO channels","volume":"7","author":"Chang","year":"2019","journal-title":"IEEE Access"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2617","DOI":"10.1049\/iet-com.2019.0139","article-title":"Three-dimensional non-stationary geometry-based stochastic model for UAV-MIMO Ricean fading channels","volume":"13","author":"Zhang","year":"2018","journal-title":"IET Commun."},{"key":"ref_15","first-page":"147","article-title":"A novel 3D non-stationary UAV-MIMO channel model and its statistical properties","volume":"15","author":"Zhu","year":"2018","journal-title":"China Commun."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1104","DOI":"10.1049\/iet-map.2018.6129","article-title":"3D non-stationary geometry-based multi-input multi-output channel model for UAV-ground communication systems","volume":"13","author":"Zhu","year":"2019","journal-title":"IET Microw. Antennas Propag."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"138","DOI":"10.1109\/MCOM.2018.1701263","article-title":"5G millimeter wave channel sounders, measurements, and models: Recent developments and future challenges","volume":"57","author":"Huang","year":"2019","journal-title":"IEEE Commun. Mag."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3142","DOI":"10.1109\/COMST.2018.2862141","article-title":"A survey of 5G channel measurements and models","volume":"20","author":"Wang","year":"2018","journal-title":"IEEE Commun. Surv. Tutor."},{"key":"ref_19","first-page":"1","article-title":"Propagation at mmW band in metropolitan railway tunnels","volume":"2018","author":"Oliva","year":"2017","journal-title":"Wirel. Commun. Mob. Comput."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108395","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2019.2932576","article-title":"Experimental investigation of millimeter-wave MIMO channel characteristics in tunnel","volume":"7","author":"Liu","year":"2019","journal-title":"IEEE Access"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bas, C.U., Wang, R., Sangodoyin, S., Hur, S., Whang, K., Park, J., Zhang, J., and Molisch, A.F. (2018, January 25\u201329). 28 GHz propagation channel measurements for 5G microcellular environments. Proceedings of the 2018 International Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society Symposium (ACES), Denver, CO, USA.","DOI":"10.23919\/ROPACES.2018.8364139"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fu, Z., Cui, H., Geng, S., and Zhao, X. (2019, January 21\u201323). 5G Millimeter Wave Channel Modeling and Simulations for a High-Voltage Substation. Proceedings of the 2019 IEEE Sustainable Power and Energy Conference (iSPEC), Beijing, China.","DOI":"10.1109\/iSPEC48194.2019.8975111"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1113","DOI":"10.1049\/iet-map.2018.6187","article-title":"Machine-learning-based prediction methods for path loss and delay spread in air-to-ground millimetre-wave channels","volume":"13","author":"Yang","year":"2019","journal-title":"IET Microw. Antennas Propag."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Khawaja, W., Ozdemir, O., and Guvenc, I. (2018, January 22\u201324). Temporal and spatial characteristics of mm wave propagation channels for UAVs. Proceedings of the 2018 11th Global Symposium on Millimeter Waves (GSMM), Boulder, CO, USA.","DOI":"10.1109\/GSMM.2018.8439182"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1190","DOI":"10.1109\/TVT.2019.2956460","article-title":"Three-dimensional modeling of mmWave doubly massive MIMO aerial fading channels","volume":"69","author":"Michailidis","year":"2020","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Veh. Technol."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cheng, L., Zhu, Q., Wang, C.-X., Zhong, W., Hua, B., and Jiang, S. (2020, January 15\u201320). Modeling and simulation for UAV air-to-ground mmWave channels. Proceedings of the 2020 14th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP), Copenhagen, Denmark.","DOI":"10.23919\/EuCAP48036.2020.9136077"},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"3GPP TR 38.901 (2019, May 17). Study on Channel Model for Frequencies from 0.5 to 100 GHz. Available online: ftp:\/\/www.3gpp.org\/specs\/archive\/38_series\/38.901."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101106","DOI":"10.1016\/j.phycom.2020.101106","article-title":"A novel spatial beam training strategy for mmWave UAV communications","volume":"41","author":"Zhong","year":"2020","journal-title":"Phys. Commun."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3850","DOI":"10.1109\/TAP.2013.2256098","article-title":"The UAV low elevation propagation channel in urban areas: Statistical analysis and time-series generator","volume":"61","author":"Simunek","year":"2013","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"22","DOI":"10.1109\/MVT.2016.2550008","article-title":"Signaling through scattered vegetation: Empirical loss modeling for low elevation angle satellite paths obstructed by isolated thin trees","volume":"11","author":"Cid","year":"2016","journal-title":"IEEE Veh. Technol. Mag."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Khawaja, W., Ozdemir, O., and Guvenc, I. (2017, January 24\u201327). UAV air-to-ground channel characterization for mmWave systems. Proceedings of the 2017 IEEE 86th Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC-Fall), Toronto, ON, Canada.","DOI":"10.1109\/VTCFall.2017.8288376"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Geise, R., Weiss, A., and Neubauer, B. (2018, January 3\u20136). Modulating features of field measurements with a UAV at millimeter wave frequencies. Proceedings of the 2018 IEEE Conference on Antenna Measurements & Applications (CAMA), Vasteras, Sweden.","DOI":"10.1109\/CAMA.2018.8530475"}],"container-title":["Sensors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/20\/23\/6957\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T10:41:57Z","timestamp":1760179317000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/20\/23\/6957"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,5]]},"references-count":32,"journal-issue":{"issue":"23","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,12]]}},"alternative-id":["s20236957"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/s20236957","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8220"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1424-8220","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,5]]}}}