Optimizing Number, Placement, and Backhaul Connectivity of Multi-UAV Networks

Multi unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) network is a promising solution to providing wireless coverage ground users in challenging rural areas (such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices farmlands), where the traditional cellular networks are sparse or unavailable. A key challenge such 3-D placement all UAV base stations (BSs) that formed multi-UAV network: 1) utilizes minimum number UAVs while ensuring—2) backhaul connectivity directly (or via other UAVs) nearby terrestrial BS; and 3) area operation. This joint backhaul-and-coverage-aware drone deployment (BoaRD) problem largely unaddressed literature and, thus, focus this article. We first formulate BoaRD integer linear programming (ILP). However, NP-hard therefore, we propose low complexity algorithm with provable performance guarantee solve efficiently. Our simulation study shows Proposed performs very close Optimal (solved using ILP solver) for smaller scenarios, size relatively small. For larger large, proposed greatly outperforms baseline approaches—Backhaul-aware Greedy random algorithm, respectively, by up 17% 95% utilizing fewer ensuring 100% ground-user deployed across considered setting.