What Is Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Fiber Optic?

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) optical fiber refers to a technical system that enables the transmission of control signals and video data between the UAV and the operator through optical cables. Its core lies in utilizing the high bandwidth and anti-interference characteristics of optical fibers to reconstruct the communication link of the UAV, ensuring that the UAV can maintain stable operation even in complex electromagnetic environments.

How Does Fiber Optic Cable Connect Drones to Operators?

A drone fiber optic system consists of three components:

The drone side: This is equipped with cameras, sensors, an onboard computer, and an optoelectronic conversion module, responsible for data acquisition and preliminary processing.

The fiber optic cable: This uses ultra-fine flexible optical fiber (typically less than 0.5 mm in diameter). For example, the fiber used in the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield is typically 5-10 km long, with some models reaching up to 30 km.

The ground end: This includes an optoelectronic converter, a control terminal (such as the LQ image and data transmission remote control), and a display device, enabling bidirectional conversion between optical and electrical signals.

The operating principle is as follows:

ground control signals undergo electrical-to-optical conversion and are transmitted to the drone via optical fiber. Data collected by the drone, such as video and flight parameters, undergo optical-to-electrical conversion and are then transmitted back to the ground station, forming a fully wired communication architecture. This design avoids the interference vulnerability of radio signals and ensures low-latency, highly stable data transmission.