Energy-Saving Data Aggregation for Multi-UAV System

Abstract

In a multi-UAV system, some collected data should be transmitted to relevant UAVs or ground station for processing when energy resources are insufficient or computation consumption is large. In this paper, we researched the energy-saving strategies for data aggregation on the combination of store-carry-forward (SCF) routing and hop-by-hop routing, which are suitable for large-scale multi-UAV networks, and proposed Single Coalition Strategy (SCS) and Coalition Formation Strategy (CFS) based on the coalition game theory. In SCS, all source UAVs transmit data individually or can form a coalition. The coalition aggregates all data to a ferry UAV for transmission, the ferry choose between SCF routing mode and hop-by-hop routing mode with the help of predicted energy-cost calculation. In CFS, all source UAVs form a coalition structure by coalition formation game (CFG) algorithm according to data amount, location, and network topology. Each coalition can aggregate data to its own ferry, and then the ferry transmits data in the optimized mode. We analyze the performance of SCS and CFS by simulations, the average transmission energy consumption of a UAV in SCS and CFS are about 30% of hop-by-hop routing mode. Based on the results, we recommend that SCS should be used when the application scenario is small and the number of UAVs is limited. In the case where the application scenario is great and the number of UAVs is large, CFS with the Utilitarian order and limited message propagation hops is recommended.