Papers for
drone network engineers
Papers whose findings have a practical use for this group, as judged from the abstract. Open a paper to read what it means in practice.
UAV communication and sensing improved in aerial corridors with antenna tuning
Joint Communication and Sensing in Aerial Corridors: A Novel Stochastic Geometry Framework
Abstract: In unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs) networks, joint communication and sensing (JCAS) is emerging as a key enabler to support extended and continuous communication and sensing capabilities for sixth-generation (6G) services among UAVs operating in swarms. Within this framework, aerial corridors provide a structured environment for supporting coordinated and reliable operations. In this paper, a comprehensive frame- work is presented to investigate the JCAS coverage probability (CP) of a UAV-base station (BS) in an aerial corridor populated by UAV-user equipments (UEs). The corridor is modeled as a finite cylinder, within which a fixed number of UAV-UEs are spatially distributed according to a three-dimensional (3D) binomial point process (BPP). The UAV-BS is assumed to be equipped with a realistic 3D third generation partnership project (3GPP) antenna pattern and exploits radar sensing capabilities to track a known UAV-UE. Subsequently, the tracked UAV-UE is assumed to perform uplink communication with the UAV-BS. Accordingly, the JCAS CP at the UAV-BS is analyzed under the presence of clutter and uplink communication interference, and exact-form analytical expressions are derived. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to develop a stochastic geometry framework for the rigorous analysis of JCAS performance in aerial corridors, with UAV-UE locations modeled as a 3D BPP. Among several insights, results show that increasing the directivity of the UAV-BS antenna beams leads to notable JCAS performance gains, particularly for shorter UAV corridors.
Adaptive resource slicing improves aerial network reliability and speed
Adaptive and Resilient Dual-Layer Resource Slicing for Hovering Aerial Backhaul Networks
Abstract: This paper investigates adaptive and resilient dual-layer resource slicing in hovering aerial agent (HAA)-assisted backhaul networks for heterogeneous 5G/6G services, including enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine-type communications (mMTC). To address the complex coupling of this dual-layer architecture in non-stationary environments, we propose the resilient adaptive priority orchestration enhanced twin delayed deep deterministic policy gradient (RAPO-TD3) framework. We introduce a novel double soft-max projection mechanism to map the continuous action space into physically feasible bandwidth distributions, ensuring strict constraint adherence. Additionally, a resilient adaptive priority orchestration (RAPO) mechanism is embedded to safeguard mission-critical URLLC latency. Crucially, we establish a rigorous mathematical foundation proving that our framework ensures Lipschitz continuity and satisfies the Robbins-Monro conditions for stable asymptotic convergence. Extensive simulations under non-stationary traffic demonstrate that our RAPO-TD3 framework achieves superior performance relative to PPO, DDPG, and traditional solvers. Notably, via the RAPO mechanism, our approach maintains URLLC satisfaction levels closely approaching theoretical optima even during 500% demand surges. Furthermore, scalability evaluations indicate that sub-millisecond execution latencies strictly satisfy the 1 ms URLLC budget, demonstrating the performance efficacy of our proposed framework.
Material aware maps improve UAV sensing and communications outdoors
Online Material-Labeled Environment Reconstruction via Bayesian Multipath Attribution for Low-Altitude ISAC
Abstract: Environment reconstruction for low-altitude integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) has largely focused on geometry-centric maps, overlooking material-dependent propagation effects. Material-labeled reconstruction is therefore a key step toward propagation-aware mapping, enabling more physically grounded channel prediction and uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) networking. However, constructing such maps from wireless multipath observations is challenging in outdoor multi-building scenarios because multipath components (MPCs) from different facades are mixed, path-to-facade attribution is uncertain, and UAV measurements arrive sequentially under time-varying observation geometries. To address these challenges, we propose a unified online probabilistic framework that represents each reflecting facade as a virtual anchor (VA) and couples Bayesian VA localization, multipath attribution, and material inference. The Bayesian front end estimates facade-level geometry and computes soft MPC-to-VA attribution probabilities using a speculardiffuse likelihood model, thereby accounting for both dominant specular paths and diffuse surface-interacted components. These attribution probabilities are used to construct attribution-aware MPC representations, which are aggregated in a VA-centric manner and mapped by a material inference network to facadelevel material evidence. The resulting evidence is recursively fused through an online Bayesian update to produce stable material posteriors and material-labeled environment maps. Ray-tracing simulations in a representative urban street scenario show that the proposed method substantially outperforms a no-attribution baseline, achieves 93.75% final facade-level material accuracy on a held-out UAV trajectory, and maintains accurate VA-based facade localization.