Deployment of Drone Base Stations for Cellular Communication Without Apriori User Distribution Information

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel 'sweep and search' algorithm for deploying drone base stations in disaster areas without prior user distribution data, optimizing coverage and user service.

Contribution

It presents the first study on drone base station deployment without apriori user info, using polygon decomposition and collision avoidance techniques.

Findings

Algorithm outperforms random search in coverage

Achieves higher number of served users within time limits

Demonstrates effectiveness through simulations

Abstract

Drone base stations can provide cellular networks in areas that have lost coverage due to disasters. To serve the maximum number of users in the disaster area without apriori user distribution information, we proposed a 'sweep and search' algorithm to find the optimal deployment of drone base stations. The algorithm involves polygon area decomposition, coverage control and collision avoidance. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first in the literature that studied the deployment of drone base station without apriori user distribution information. Simulations are presented showing that the proposed algorithm outperforms the random search algorithm and the attractive search algorithm regarding the maximum number of severed users under the deployment of drone-BSs they found with a time limit.