Cellular-Connected UAV: Potentials, Challenges and Promising Technologies

TL;DR

This paper reviews the potential, challenges, and promising technologies for integrating UAVs into cellular networks to enable reliable, high-rate, low-latency communications for various applications, emphasizing new design considerations and future research directions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of cellular-connected UAV technology, discussing its benefits, unique challenges, spectrum needs, and promising enabling technologies for 3D heterogeneous networks.

Findings

Simulation results support the discussed technologies and challenges.

Identifies key design considerations for UAV integration into cellular networks.

Highlights future research directions in 3D wireless networks.

Abstract

Enabling high-rate, low-latency and ultra-reliable wireless communications between unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and their associated ground pilots/users is of paramount importance to realize their large-scale usage in the future. To achieve this goal, cellular-connected UAV, whereby UAVs for various applications are integrated into the cellular network as new aerial users, is a promising technology that has drawn significant attention recently. Compared to the conventional cellular communication with terrestrial users, cellular-connected UAV communication possesses substantially different characteristics that bring in new research challenges as well as opportunities. In this article, we provide an overview of this emerging technology, by firstly discussing its potential benefits, unique communication and spectrum requirements, as well as new design considerations. We then introduce promising technologies to enable the future generation of three-dimensional (3D) heterogeneous wireless networks with coexisting aerial and ground users. Last, we present simulation results to corroborate our discussions and highlight key directions for future research.