Digital Twin-based SIM Communication and Flight Control for Advanced Air Mobility
Journal:
arXiv
Published Date:
Jan 3, 2025
Abstract
Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing vehicles (eVTOLs) are driving Advanced
Air Mobility (AAM) toward transforming urban transportation by extending travel
from congested ground networks to low-altitude airspace. This transition
promises to reduce traffic congestion and significantly shorten commute times.
To ensure aviation safety, eVTOLs must fly within prescribed flight corridors.
These corridors are managed by ground-based Air Traffic Control (ATCo)
stations, which oversee air-ground communication and flight scheduling.
However, one critical challenge remains: the lack of high rate air-ground
communication and safe flight planning within these corridors. The introduction
of 6G-oriented Stacked Intelligent Metasurface (SIM) technology presents a high
rate communication solution. With advanced phase-shifting capabilities, SIM
enables precise wireless signal control and supports beam-tracking
communication with eVTOLs. Leveraging this technology, we propose a Composite
Potential Field (CPF) approach. This method dynamically integrates target,
separation, and communication fields to optimize both SIM communication
efficiency and flight safety. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of
this DT-based approach. Compared to the potential field flight control
benchmark, it improves the transmission rate by 8.3\%. Additionally, it reduces
flight distance deviation from the prescribed corridor by 10\% compared to
predetermined optimization methods.
