Performance Evaluation of UAV-Aided Mobile Networks by Means of Ray Launching Generated REMs

Abstract

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), also known as drones, are receiving increasing attention as enablers for many emerging technologies and applications, a trend likely to continue in the next future. In this regard, using Unmanned Aerial Base Stations (UABSs), i.e. base stations carried by UAVs, is one of the most promising means to offer coverage and capacity in 5G applications to those users that are not being served by terrestrial base stations. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for trajectory design and Radio Resource Management (RRM) in UAV-aided networks using information retrieved from precise Radio Environmental Map (REM) based on Ray Launching (RL) simulations for RF propagation and narrow band estimations. Furthermore, we consider different possible models for antennas to be installed on multiple UABSs as well as proper RRM strategies which are able to take advantage of REM inputs. Simulation results will show the performance achieved by the system for the different approaches and it will compare them with the previous use of statistical models.