Design of a UAV-based radio receiver for avalanche beacon detection using software defined radio and signal processing

Abstract: A fully functional proof of concept radio receiver for detecting avalanche beacons atthe frequency 457 kHz was constructed in the work of this master thesis. The radioreceiver is intended to be mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drone)and used to aid the mountain rescue teams by reducing the rescue time in findingavalanche victims carrying a transmitting beacon. The main parts of this master thesisinvolved hardware requirement analysis, software development, digital signalprocessing and wireless communications. The radio receiver was customized to receive low power signal levels becausemagnetic antennas are used and the avalanche beacon will operate in the reactive nearfield of the radio receiver. Noise from external sources has a significant impact on theperformance of the radio receiver. This master thesis allows for straightforward further development and refining of theradio receiver due to the flexibility of the used open-source software development kitGNU Radio where the digital signal processing was performed.