Joint Configuration of Transmission Direction and Altitude in UAV-based Two-Way Communication
For UAV communication system designers, this work provides a method to optimize throughput in two-way UAV networks, though it is incremental as it extends existing concepts.
This paper tackles the problem of maximizing system throughput in UAV-based two-way communication by jointly configuring transmission direction and altitude. The results show that throughput can be significantly improved compared to unidirectional approaches, leveraging NLoS interference among ground devices.
When considering unidirectional communication for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as flying Base Stations (BSs), either uplink or downlink, the system is limited through the co-channel interference that takes place over line-of-sight (LoS) links. This paper considers two-way communication and takes advantage of the fact that the interference among the ground devices takes place through non-line-of-sight (NLoS) links. UAVs can be deployed at the high altitudes to have larger coverage, while the two-way communication allows to configure the transmission direction. Using these two levers, we show how the system throughput can be maximized for a given deployment of the ground devices.