Three Dimensional UAV Positioning for Dynamic UAV-to-Car Communications

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 20; no. 2; p. 356
• Main Authors: Hadiwardoyo, Seilendria A, Calafate, Carlos T, Cano, Juan-Carlos, Krinkin, Kirill, Klionskiy, Dmitry, Hernández-Orallo, Enrique, Manzoni, Pietro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 08-01-2020; MDPI
• Subjects: 3d placement; Altitude; Automobiles; Communication; Connectivity; Drones; dynamic positioning; Flight altitude; genetic algorithm; Infrastructure; its; Linear programming; Optimization algorithms; pso; Receivers & amplifiers; simulation; uav; Unmanned aerial vehicles; Urban areas; Vehicles; vehicular communications; Wireless networks; genetic algorithm; simulation; 3D placement; ITS; vehicular communications; UAV; PSO; dynamic positioning
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s20020356

In areas with limited infrastructure, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can come in handy as relays for car-to-car communications. Since UAVs are able to fully explore a three-dimensional environment while flying, communications that involve them can be affected by the irregularity of the terrains, that in turn can cause path loss by acting as obstacles. Accounting for this phenomenon, we propose a UAV positioning technique that relies on optimization algorithms to improve the support for vehicular communications. Simulation results show that the best position of the UAV can be timely determined considering the dynamic movement of the cars. Our technique takes into account the current flight altitude, the position of the cars on the ground, and the existing flight restrictions.