Characterization of Low-Power Wireless Links in UAV-Assisted Wireless-Sensor Network

Abstract

The introduction of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) makes low-power links face many new challenges in UAV-assisted wireless-sensor network (WSN). In this article, the spatial characteristics of these low-power links are analyzed comprehensively, and the applicability of traditional link quality metrics and models is evaluated. In particular, the differences between link characteristics of UAV-assisted WSN and those of traditional WSN are discussed, and possible reasons for these differences are analyzed. To achieve this goal, two UAVs working on different bands are used and three different flight modes are designed. Experimental results show that link characteristics of UAV-assisted WSN become more complicated due to the 3-D movement of UAV. Link quality fluctuates significantly when the altitude or horizontal distance changes, and it is difficult to demarcate a clear bound between the connected and transitional region. Traditional models for spatial characteristic are only applicable when there is no UAV communication interference and the direction between the air node and ground node remains unchanged. Meanwhile, existing models between physical-layer metrics and packet reception ratio are only applicable when there is no UAV communication interference. For links with the same quality, stability of UAV-assisted WSN is not significantly different from that of traditional WSN. Finally, there is more obvious overall asymmetry between uplinks and downlinks in UAV-assisted WSN, and the quality of downlinks is significantly better than that of uplinks. The discovery of these new features would have great significance on the design of UAV-assisted WSN.