Selection of Routing Metrics and Service Channel Characteristics of ad hoc Network for UAV Swarm

Abstract

Swarm technologies for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), which represent a qualitatively new level of robotics development, can significantly increase the efficiency of using drones. From the point of view of organizing communications, such a swarm is an ad hoc network, the nodes of which are UAV. A characteristic feature of this network is the frequent change in the network structure due to changes in the position of UAV in space, necessitating the use of dynamic routing protocols when transmitting information within the swarm. This article is devoted to the study of the behavior of a self-organizing radio network, which uses various variants of the algorithm for finding the shortest route distance with reference to the constantly changing network topology. An analysis of the behavior of such a network was carried out using various options for routing metrics: node metrics, characterizing the state of network nodes, and channel metrics, characterizing the state of communication channels between nodes. Particular attention is paid to the impact on network characteristics, primarily the average packet transmission time from source to recipient, the composition of routing metrics, service channel parameters, traffic intensity, and energy parameters of communication channels. The results from modeling allowed drawing conclusions about the feasibility of using various methods for organizing a service channel depending on the volume of transmitted routing information and evaluating the influence of routing metrics on the characteristics of the network in a stationary state and in the process of changing its structure. The approach proposed by the authors for assessing the efficiency of routing in a self-organizing network is applicable not only to UAV, but can be adapted for other unmanned vehicles (ground, surface, underwater) taking into account the peculiarities of their functioning and the propagation of radio waves.