Performance Analysis of Millimeter-Wave UAV Swarm Networks under Blockage Effects

Area of Science:

• Wireless communication networks
• Aerial robotics
• Signal propagation

Background:

• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer enhanced mobility for cellular networks, complementing terrestrial base stations (BSs).
• Millimeter wave (mmWave) technology promises high data rates and low latency but suffers from signal blockage due to poor diffraction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the outage performance of mmWave networks utilizing a swarm of randomly distributed UAV base stations.
• To determine how system parameters, specifically UAV swarm size and distance to the receiver, affect network reliability.

Main Methods:

• Employing stochastic geometry and random shape theory to model a UAV swarm.
• Utilizing a channel model that incorporates distance-based random blockage effects for mmWave signals.
• Analyzing macro-diversity gains from multiple UAV BSs.

Main Results:

• The study quantifies the outage performance of the mmWave UAV swarm network.
• Analysis demonstrates the relationship between system parameters and outage rate.
• Identified methods to minimize outage rate by adjusting UAV swarm configuration.

Conclusions:

• Macro-diversity from UAV swarms can mitigate mmWave blockage issues in cellular networks.
• Optimizing UAV swarm size and placement is crucial for reliable mmWave communication.
• This research provides insights for designing future high-performance wireless networks using UAVs.