A Hybrid Communication Scheme for Efficient and Low-Cost Deployment of Future Flying Ad-Hoc Network (FANET)

Abstract

In recent years, FANET-related research and development has doubled, due to the increased demands of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in both military and civilian operations. Equipped with more capabilities and unique characteristics, FANET is able to play a vital role in mission-critical applications. However, these distinctive features enforce a series of guidelines to be considered for its efficient deployment. Particularly, the use of FANET for on-time data communication services presents demanding challenges in terms of energy efficiency and quality of service (QoS). Proper use of communication architecture and wireless technology will assist to solve these challenges. Therefore, in this paper, we review different communication architectures, including the existing wireless technologies, in order to provide seamless wireless connectivity. Based on the discussions, we conclude that a multi-layer UAV ad-hoc network is the most suitable architecture for networking a group of heterogeneous UAVs, while Bluetooth 5 (802.15.1) is the most favored option because of its low-cost, low power consumption, and longer transmission range for FANET. However, 802.15.1 has the limitation of a lower data rate as compared to Wi-Fi (802.11). Therefore, we propose a hybrid wireless communication scheme so as to utilize the features of the high data transmission rate of 802.11 and the low-power consumption of 802.15.1. The proposed scheme significantly reduces communication cost and improves the network performance in terms of throughput and delay. Further, simulation results using the Optimized Network Engineering Tool (OPNET) further support the effectiveness of our proposed scheme.

Advances in Drone Communications, State-of-the-Art and Architectures

“…Selection of communication setup, architecture, and core technology for operating FANETs is really a tedious issue. Thus, to understand this, Muhammad Asghar Khan et al [1] proposed a hybrid wireless communication scheme which utilizes the features of the high data transmission rate of 802.11 and the low-power consumption of 802.15.1 for efficient communications over FANETs. As availed through simulations, the proposed scheme significantly improves the network performance and lowers the communication cost.Drones can be helpful in timely delivering of services especially during/after a disaster by increasing surge capacity for public safety communications.…”

Softwarization of UAV Networks: A Survey of Applications and Future Trends

“…As indicated by its name, this architecture comprises a group of UAVs that are linked to a single ground BS communicating simultaneously with all UAVs [120]. In the case when UAVs want to establish communication between each other, all data exchanges are routed via the ground BS [121].…”

Internet of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: QoS Provisioning in Aerial Ad-Hoc Networks

“…However, the approach does not optimize the quality of service metrics in an aerial environment. A flying ad hoc network enabled by a hybrid communication system for UAVs (HCU), focusing on data rate and power consumption, has been suggested, [37]. An experimental case study has been examined considering two types of wireless communication systems, namely, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.…”