Joint Altitude and Beamwidth Optimization for UAV-Enabled Multiuser Communications

Haiyun He, Shuowen Zhang, Yong Zeng, Rui Zhang

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

233 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We study multiuser communication systems enabled by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is equipped with a directional antenna of adjustable beamwidth. We propose a fly-hover-and-communicate protocol, where the ground terminals are partitioned into disjoint clusters that are sequentially served by the UAV as it hovers above the corresponding cluster centers. We jointly optimize the UAV's flying altitude and antenna beamwidth for throughput optimization in three fundamental multiuser communication models, namely, UAV-enabled downlink multicasting, downlink broadcasting, and uplink multiple access. Results show that the optimal UAV altitude and antenna beamwidth critically depend on the communication model considered.

Original languageEnglish
Article number8103781
Pages (from-to)344-347
Number of pages4
JournalIEEE Communications Letters
Volume22
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • altitude optimization
  • beamwidth optimization
  • directional antenna
  • UAV communication
  • wireless network

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Modelling and Simulation
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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