Performance Analysis of Multi-Antenna UAV Networks With 3D Interference Coordination

Abstract

Exploiting multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology in UAV networks will mine the potential of spatial multiplexing. However, considering UAVs 3D distribution and line-of-sight (LOS)/non-line-of-sight (NLOS) channel dynamics, multi-antenna transmission will exacerbate network irregularity and render interference management a complicated problem to solve. This paper proposes 3D coordination model for interference management via multi-cell beamforming and signal-level cooperation in multi-antenna UAV networks, and analyzes system performance by deriving semi-closed expression of coverage probability using stochastic geometry. Specifically, UAVs are deployed according to 3D Poisson point process (PPP) with maximum height limit <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L$ </tex-math></inline-formula> , and user-centric cell group selection is considered according to specific signal threshold <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\eta $ </tex-math></inline-formula> for interference coordination with the consideration of LOS/NLOS channel conditions. Zero-forcing beamforming and joint transmission is performed within the UAV cluster for interference mitigation with limited channel state information feedback taken account. In addition, considering the irregularity of UAV group, system performance is construed as three scenarios and coverage probability is derived by Gamma approximation with proposed novel coordinate system transformation. Numerical results match well with simulations and provide optimal deployment parameters for UAV deployments, where coverage probability can reach 92% when SIR threshold <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$T=0$ </tex-math></inline-formula> dB.