Lyapunov-based trajectory optimization for UAV-assisted wireless networks with obstacle avoidance

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are used to extend aircraft operations such as autonomous navigation, obstacle detection and
collision avoidance. UAVs are increasingly deployed as airborne communication relays to extend coverage in terrain-challenged
environments where ground base stations cannot serve remote users. This paper presents a trajectory planning framework with
intelligent data transmission through UAVs acting as relays. Small base station (SBS) to UAV communication link assists remote
users who are not able to get coverage from the SBS. A~novel energy-efficient trajectory (EET) algorithm that jointly addresses
obstacle avoidance and energy-aware data transmission for multi-UAV networks is proposed. The first part of the work focuses on
trajectory planning to avoid obstacle collisions by using artificial repulsive force (APF) generated from the UAV, second part
focuses on exploiting the Lyapunov approach to control the energy consumption of UAV during flight and communication of each user.
Energy utilization is optimized through heuristic algorithms along with the data rate of the users. Numerical simulation results
are shown to prove the performance of the proposed approach. The proposed EET-Lyapunov approach achieves a 31.3% reduction in
total energy consumption.