Wireless communications with unmanned aerial vehicles: opportunities and challenges
Top Cited Papers
- 18 May 2016
- journal article
- Published by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in IEEE Communications Magazine
- Vol. 54 (5), 36-42
- https://doi.org/10.1109/mcom.2016.7470933
Abstract
Wireless communication systems that include unmanned aerial vehicles promise to provide cost-effective wireless connectivity for devices without infrastructure coverage. Compared to terrestrial communications or those based on high-altitude platforms, on-demand wireless systems with low-altitude UAVs are in general faster to deploy, more flexibly reconfigured, and likely to have better communication channels due to the presence of short-range line-of-sight links. However, the utilization of highly mobile and energy-constrained UAVs for wireless communications also introduces many new challenges. In this article, we provide an overview of UAV-aided wireless communications, by introducing the basic networking architecture and main channel characteristics, highlighting the key design considerations as well as the new opportunities to be exploited.Keywords
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