Environment-Aware IoT UAV Channel Prediction: A Multiparameter Prediction Case Using Multimodal Sensing Data

In Internet of things (IoT) systems enabled by 6G, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), acting as communication nodes, have the advantages of flexible deployment and wide-area coverage. The channel prediction capability of UAVs for ground communication is of great significance for improving the reliability of IoT communication systems. We propose an innovative and interpretable paradigm for channel prediction based on “physical feature extraction + machine learning”. Specificallywe proposes a real-time UAV-to-ground channel prediction method that leverages propagation environment sensing data, aiming to enhance prediction accuracy and generalization by deeply integrating environmental and communication information. Firstly, we construct the first UAV sensing-communication integrated dataset featuring multi-band, multi-dimensional channel parameters, including UAV-to-ground RGB images, depth maps, and channel data. We then extract multimodal features with clear physical significance relevant to wireless propagation, such as relative position, relative altitude, relative volume, and transmitter-receiver distance. Finally, this paper designs a fusion architecture based on convolutional neural network (CNN) and multilayer perceptron (MLP). This architecture takes multimodal feature data as input, utilizes CNN to extract local features of multi-modal features, and models the fusion of multi-modal features through MLP. Experimental results demonstrate that our model consistently outperforms comparative model. Importantly, our feature analysis quantitatively reveals—for the first time—that building volume is the most influential factor in channel behavior, and that prediction accuracy degrades with increasing flight altitude. Furthermore, system-level simulations confirm that channel prediction leads to substantial improvements in network performance. This work presents a robust and interpretable framework for environment-aware channel characterization, laying a foundation for future 6G intelligent communication systems.