Robust Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access for Aerial and Ground Users

In this paper, we consider a downlink wireless communication system with the co-existence of ground user (GU) and mobile aerial user (AU). Existing solutions rely on orthogonal multiple access (OMA) to support these users, however, OMA is unable to provide the best rate and outage performance because its spectral efficiency is limited by the users’ channel conditions and rate requirements. Thus, we propose an aerial-ground non-orthogonal multiple access (AG-NOMA) scheme that pairs the GU and AU for data and control links, respectively. Unlike terrestrial non-orthgonal multiple access (NOMA), the key idea of AG-NOMA is to exploit the asymmetric features of the channels and rate demands of the GU and AU in the downlink communication. Based on these opportunities, we investigate the maximum achievable GU rate over a time-varying wireless channel while satisfying the AU Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirement with perfect and partial channel state information (CSI). For perfect CSI, we derive the optimal successive interference cancellation (SIC) policy, power allocation, GU rate, and feasibility conditions in closed-form expressions. For partial CSI, we also derive the suboptimal SIC policy and power allocation in closed-form expressions, and further discussed a tradeoff between the achievable rate and reliability. This tradeoff depends on the system parameters, and thus we have suggested some appropriate parameters based on theoretical support and standard requirements to strike a balance between rate and reliability. Our simulation results show that AG-NOMA scheme with perfect and partial CSI can achieve up to +99% GU rate-improvement as compared to OMA and provide a more sustainable rate-improvement and/or lower outage probability than terrestrial NOMA scheme

NOMA-Based UAV-Aided Networks for Emergency Communications

High spectrum efficiency (SE) requirement and massive connections are the main challenges for the fifth generation (5G) and beyond 5G (B5G) wireless networks, especially for the case when Internet of Things (IoT) devices are located in a disaster area. Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA)-based unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-aided network is emerging as a promising technique to overcome the above challenges. In this paper, an emergency communications framework of NOMA-based UAV-aided networks is established, where the disasters scenarios can be divided into three broad categories that have named emergency areas, wide areas and dense areas. First, a UAV-enabled uplink NOMA system is established to gather information from IoT devices in emergency areas. Then, a joint UAV deployment and resource allocation scheme for a multi-UAV enabled NOMA system is developed to extend the UAV coverage for IoT devices in wide areas. Furthermore, a UAV equipped with an antenna array has been considered to provide wireless service for multiple devices that are densely distributed in disaster areas. Simulation results are provided to validate the effectiveness of the above three schemes. Finally, potential research directions and challenges are also highlighted and discussed

CoMP Transmission in Downlink NOMA-Based Cellular-Connected UAV Networks

In this paper, we study the integration between the coordinated multipoint (CoMP) transmission and the non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) in the downlink cellular-connected UAV networks with the coexistence of aerial users (AUs) and terrestrial users (TUs). Based on the comparison of the desired signal strength to the dominant interference strength, the AUs are classified into CoMP-AUs and Non-CoMP AUs, where the former receives transmissions from two cooperative BSs, and constructs two exclusive NOMA clusters with two TUs, respectively. A Non-CoMP AU constructs a NOMA cluster with a TU served by the same BS. By leveraging the tools from stochastic geometry, we propose a novel analytical framework to evaluate the performance of the CoMP-NOMA based cellular-connected UAV network in terms of coverage probability, and average ergodic rate. We reveal the superiority of the proposed CoMP-NOMA scheme by comparing with three benchmark schemes, and further quantify the impacts of key system parameters on the network performance. By harvesting the benefits of both CoMP and NOMA, we prove that the proposed framework can provide reliable connection for AUs by using CoMP and enhance the average ergodic rate through NOMA technique as well.Comment: 29 pages,10 figures, submitted to a transaction journa

Application of NOMA for cellular-connected UAVs: opportunities and challenges

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have gained considerable interests in numerous civil applications. To push forward its potentials, cellular-connected UAVs have been introduced. Nevertheless, cellular networks face several bottlenecks such as spectrum scarcity and limited concurrent connectivity. To address these issues, non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) can be adopted. NOMA provides several opportunities for cellular-connected UAVs such as larger rate region, balanced performance between system throughput and fairness, and reduced delay. In this paper, we review important findings of the related studies, and outline new opportunities and challenges in NOMA for cellular-connected UAVs. Monte-Carlo simulations are then performed to analyze the new aerial user’s (AU)’s signal characteristics and evaluate the NOMA performance for co-existence of AU and terrestrial user (TU). Our preliminary results show that NOMA is a promising strategy for cellular-connected UAVs

Interference-Aware NOMA for Cellular-Connected UAVs:Stochastic Geometry Analysis

Efficiency of cellular-connected UAVs is challenged by spectrum inefficiency, limited number of concurrent connectivity, and strong interference. To overcome these issues, in this paper, we study the performance of downlink non-orthogonal multiple access for cellular-connected UAVs. We develop a novel framework based on stochastic geometry for the co-existence of aerial users (AUs) and terrestrial users (TUs), where the spatial distribution of the base stations (BSs) follows a Poisson Point Process. In our analysis, two user association policies and two types of receive antennas are considered while an inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC) technique is also in place. As the main performance measures, we then analytically derive the coverage probability and average rate of AUs and TUs. These derivations are then used to provide quantitative insights on the impact of different system parameters and settings including AU’s altitude, TU’s distance from the BS, power allocation, successive interference cancellation (SIC) constraints, user association policy, antenna beamwidth, and the number of coordinated BSs. Based on our analysis we then propose an interference-aware scheme based on maximum-SINR user association, directional antenna, and ICIC. A benchmark scheme based on minimum-distance user association, omni-directional antenna, and without ICIC is considered. Compared to the benchmark scheme, our proposed scheme improves the AU’s coverage probability by threefold and TU’s average rate by six-fold. Compared to the orthogonal multiple access, our proposed scheme trades off a slight reduction in the AU’s coverage probability (~1%) with a significant increase in the achieved rate of the TUs (603Kbps/resource block)

A Comprehensive Overview on 5G-and-Beyond Networks with UAVs: From Communications to Sensing and Intelligence

Due to the advancements in cellular technologies and the dense deployment of cellular infrastructure, integrating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into the fifth-generation (5G) and beyond cellular networks is a promising solution to achieve safe UAV operation as well as enabling diversified applications with mission-specific payload data delivery. In particular, 5G networks need to support three typical usage scenarios, namely, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine-type communications (mMTC). On the one hand, UAVs can be leveraged as cost-effective aerial platforms to provide ground users with enhanced communication services by exploiting their high cruising altitude and controllable maneuverability in three-dimensional (3D) space. On the other hand, providing such communication services simultaneously for both UAV and ground users poses new challenges due to the need for ubiquitous 3D signal coverage as well as the strong air-ground network interference. Besides the requirement of high-performance wireless communications, the ability to support effective and efficient sensing as well as network intelligence is also essential for 5G-and-beyond 3D heterogeneous wireless networks with coexisting aerial and ground users. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of the latest research efforts on integrating UAVs into cellular networks, with an emphasis on how to exploit advanced techniques (e.g., intelligent reflecting surface, short packet transmission, energy harvesting, joint communication and radar sensing, and edge intelligence) to meet the diversified service requirements of next-generation wireless systems. Moreover, we highlight important directions for further investigation in future work.Comment: Accepted by IEEE JSA