Aerial Intelligent Reflecting Surface-Enabled Terahertz Covert Communications in Beyond-5G Internet of Things

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are envisioned to be extensively employed for assisting wireless communications in the Internet of Things (IoT). On other hand, terahertz (THz)-enabled intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) is expected one core enabling technologies forthcoming beyond-5G (B5G) that promise a broad range data-demand applications. In this article, we propose UAV-mounted IRS (UIRS) communication system over THz bands confidential data dissemination from an access point (AP) toward multiple ground user equipments (UEs) IoT networks. Specifically, AP intends send scheduled UE, while unscheduled UEs may behave as potential adversaries. To protect information messages privacy preservation perspective, aim devise energy-efficient multi-UAV covert scheme, where UIRS reliable transmissions, and extra UAV utilized cooperative jammer, opportunistically generating artificial noise (AN) degrade detection, leading covertness improvement. This poses novel max-min optimization problem terms minimum average energy efficiency (mAEE), aiming improve throughput reduce UAVs’ propulsion consumption, subject satisfying some practical constraints such requirements which obtain analytical expressions. Since nonconvex, tackle it via block successive convex approximation (BSCA) approach iteratively solve sequence approximated subproblems, designing binary scheduling, AP’s power allocation, maximum AN jamming power, beamforming, both trajectory velocity planning. Finally, present low-complex overall algorithm performance enhancement with complexity convergence analysis. Numerical results provided verify analysis demonstrate significant outperformance our design existing benchmark schemes concerning mAEE performance.