A coverage-aware Optimal Deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Base Stations.

Abstract

As the capacity and coverage requirements of terrestrial networks increase, network operators respond in different ways such as upgrading their network and using capacity enhancement techniques. These include; sectoring, purchasing spectrum and densifying the network with terrestrial small cells such as pico, femto and micro cells, these solutions are costly. In this project, we proposed a solution of deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Base stations (UAV BSs) as small base stations (SBSs) in a heterogeneous network (HetNet). UAV BSs can replace the setting up of new terrestrial sites and provide on-demand communication. However, their deployment creates a challenge for the operator’s network planning. This is because high levels of interferences are caused when poorly planned for, thereby degrading the performance of network. Therefore, a need for optimal deployment is created so as to maximize their contribution to the network. An optimal planning algorithm is created for deployment of UAV BSs where the best placement for UAV BSs were achieved by spreading out the locations of new BSs from each other and from the existing BSs. This calls for maximizing the distance between the BSs. Simulation results indicate that fewer UAV BSs are required when placed in optimal locations as opposed to being placed in non-optimal locations to achieve the same network performance. Simulation results also show that HetNets have better performance than homogeneous networks in terms of sum rate and coverage probability.