Autonomous Navigation and Configuration of Integrated Access Backhauling for UAV Base Station Using Reinforcement Learning

TL;DR

This paper presents a deep reinforcement learning framework for autonomous navigation and configuration of UAV-based base stations using 5G IAB technology to enhance connectivity in disaster scenarios.

Contribution

It introduces a novel RL-based method for joint optimization of UAV position and antenna tilt to improve emergency network coverage and performance.

Findings

Improved throughput for MC users

Reduced user drop rate

Autonomous UAV navigation and configuration

Abstract

Fast and reliable connectivity is essential to enhancing situational awareness and operational efficiency for public safety mission-critical (MC) users. In emergency or disaster circumstances, where existing cellular network coverage and capacity may not be available to meet MC communication demands, deployable-network-based solutions such as cells-on-wheels/wings can be utilized swiftly to ensure reliable connection for MC users. In this paper, we consider a scenario where a macro base station (BS) is destroyed due to a natural disaster and an unmanned aerial vehicle carrying BS (UAV-BS) is set up to provide temporary coverage for users in the disaster area. The UAV-BS is integrated into the mobile network using the 5G integrated access and backhaul (IAB) technology. We propose a framework and signalling procedure for applying machine learning to this use case. A deep reinforcement learning algorithm is designed to jointly optimize the access and backhaul antenna tilt as well as the three-dimensional location of the UAV-BS in order to best serve the on-ground MC users while maintaining a good backhaul connection. Our result shows that the proposed algorithm can autonomously navigate and configure the UAV-BS to improve the throughput and reduce the drop rate of MC users.