Key Takeaways & Executive Findings
- •• Standalone positioning technologies are inadequate in complex low-altitude settings; multi-source fusion and UAV swarm cooperative positioning are identified as pivotal future trends. • A novel “space−air−ground” integrated and cooperative positioning architecture centered on GNSS and 5G is proposed for low-altitude intelligent networks. • The three-layer (ground, aerial, space) architecture reuses existing infrastructure to reduce deployment costs and deeply integrates communication and navigation capabilities. • The proposed framework enhances positioning robustness and provides cost-effective, ubiquitous, and highly reliable positioning services, while highlighting promising research directions for LAIN.
Abstract
The rapid expansion of the low-altitude economy is driving strong demand for highly accurate and reliable positioning technologies to support diverse aerial operations. This review examines core positioning methodologies within the low-altitude intelligent network (LAIN) framework, beginning with an analysis of positioning requirements and performance metrics for low-altitude flight scenarios. It systematically assesses the principles, strengths, and limitations of mainstream positioning systems, including Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), terrestrial wireless positioning, and autonomous navigation, and it surveys prevalent integrated and cooperative positioning schemes. Our analysis demonstrates that standalone positioning technologies are inadequate in complex low-altitude settings, underscoring the pivotal role of multi-source fusion and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarm cooperative positioning as future trends. To address infrastructure gaps and high deployment costs in current LAIN systems, we propose a “space−air−ground” integrated and cooperative positioning architecture centered on GNSS and the 5th generation mobile communication technology (5G). The ground layer integrates 5G and GNSS for wide-area enhanced positioning. The aerial layer uses 5G aircraft-to-everything (A2X) and sidelink (SL) communications to build self-organizing networks for cooperative UAV localization. The space layer leverages low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to overcome coverage limitations in communication and positioning. This hierarchical architecture reduces deployment costs through infrastructure reuse and enables deep integration of communication and navigation capabilities. By supporting collaborative enhancement across all three domains, the framework improves positioning robustness and delivers cost-effective, ubiquitous, and highly reliable positioning services. Finally, we outline promising research directions. This review aims to provide a systematic reference and a novel architectural perspective for the ongoing development of LAIN.
1. Introduction
In recent years, rapid advances in low-altitude aviation technologies—such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft—have accelerated the global low-altitude economy (LAE), making it a key growth area and a strategic focus for many countries. China has explicitly elevated LAE to a national strategic priority. As low-altitude activities expand, flight operations have become more frequent, increasing demands on safety, efficiency, and intelligent traffic management. The low-altitude intelligent network (LAIN), as the core infrastructure of LAE, plays a critical role in ensuring flight safety. By integrating communication, navigation, surveillance, and meteorological technologies, LAIN enables real-time monitoring, precise positioning, and intelligent scheduling of low-altitude aircraft. Among these capabilities, positioning and navigation systems are particularly essential. High-precision and highly reliable positioning provides accurate location information that supports safe flight in complex low-altitude environments.
Low-altitude flight environments present unique challenges. Urban canyons cause multipath signal interference, electromagnetic noise can degrade signal quality, and adverse weather can induce trajectory deviations. These conditions place greater demands on positioning technologies. Each of the existing methods, such as Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), radio-based positioning, Inertial Navigation System (INS), visual localization, and natural-field positioning, has strengths and limitations in terms of accuracy and reliability. No single positioning technology can meet the diverse and demanding requirements of the LAE.
In addition, the current positioning infrastructure is fragmented and lacks sufficient coverage to support large-scale and continuous low-altitude operations. Consequently, many local regions have independently deployed low-altitude navigation networks, leading to redundant construction and inefficient resource use.
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Yao JIN, Zhongliang DENG, He ZHANG, Zhenke DING, Xiongyan TANG, Zelin WANG (2025). A review of UAV positioning in LAIN: toward a 5G-core “space−air−ground” integrated and cooperative architecture. Engineering Information Technology & Electronic Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1631/ENG_ITEE_2025_0127
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the low-altitude intelligent network (LAIN)?
LAIN is the core infrastructure of the low-altitude economy (LAE). It integrates communication, navigation, surveillance, and meteorological technologies to enable real-time monitoring, precise positioning, and intelligent scheduling of low-altitude aircraft, thereby ensuring flight safety.
Why are standalone positioning technologies inadequate for UAVs in low-altitude environments?
Low-altitude environments present challenges such as urban canyon multipath interference, electromagnetic noise, and adverse weather. Each individual technology—GNSS, radio-based positioning, INS, visual localization, and natural-field positioning—has strengths and limitations, but none can simultaneously deliver the required accuracy and reliability in complex low-altitude settings.
What architecture does this paper propose for UAV positioning?
The paper proposes a “space−air−ground” integrated and cooperative positioning architecture centered on GNSS and 5G. The ground layer integrates 5G and GNSS for wide-area enhanced positioning, the aerial layer uses 5G A2X and sidelink communications for cooperative UAV localization, and the space layer leverages LEO satellites to overcome coverage limitations.
How does the proposed architecture reduce deployment costs?
The architecture reduces deployment costs by reusing existing infrastructure across the ground, aerial, and space layers. This infrastructure reuse enables deep integration of communication and navigation capabilities, delivering cost-effective positioning services without the need for entirely new dedicated systems.
What are the future research directions for LAIN positioning?
While the paper outlines promising research directions, the key forward-looking themes include advancing multi-source fusion techniques, enhancing UAV swarm cooperative positioning, optimizing integration of communication and navigation, and further developing space–air–ground collaborative mechanisms to achieve ubiquitous and highly reliable positioning.
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