Dynamic multimedia transmission scheduling by unmanned aerial vehicle–mounted base stations for a vehicular ad hoc network

Abstract

On highways, vehicle speed and topology changes are likely to cause transmission delays. In this study, a multimedia transmission system for highways is proposed; this system combines a next-generation cloud radio access network, which has a centralised architecture, with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-mounted base stations (UAV-BSs), cellular network base stations, and roadside units. The deployment characteristics of the UAV-BSs are examined to improve the service of vehicular ad hoc networks and the quality of experience of users. A UAV location assignment algorithm and a transmission resource allocation algorithm for multiple bit rates, communication channels, and relay stations are proposed to reduce multimedia playback lag. We implemented a simulation programme to evaluate how the proposed algorithms outperformed other relevant methods. The simulation results indicate that the proposed algorithms achieve lower lag time than do existing demand- and transmission-based methods. The findings of this study have implications for the practical application of multimedia transmission decision support on highways.