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arXiv · 1602.03602

Wireless Communications with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Opportunities and Challenges

Yong Zeng·Rui Zhang·Teng Joon Lim
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Abstract

Wireless communication systems that include unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) promise to provide cost-effective wireless connectivity for devices without infrastructure coverage. Compared to terrestrial communications or those based on high-altitude platforms (HAPs), on-demand wireless systems with low-altitude UAVs are in general faster to deploy, more flexibly re-configured, and are likely to have better communication channels due to the presence of short-range line-of-sight (LoS) 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.

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Yong Zeng, Rui Zhang, Teng Joon Lim. 2016-02-11. Wireless Communications with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Opportunities and Challenges. https://doi.org/10.1109/mcom.2016.7470933

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