Balanced Performance Between Energy-Delay and Bit Error Rate in UAV Relay Networks

Abstract

This paper presents a new strategy for simultaneously reducing energy consumption, transmission delays, and bit error rate in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) networks. A UAV is fitted with a wireless Bidirectional Relay (BR) to enable coverage network extension and increase transmission throughput. The downside of the BR advantages is the delay in data transmission caused by the UAV's movement. A consequence of this delay is increased total energy consumption, causing further degradation in bit error rate performance, especially at high SNR levels. In wireless communication, the trade-off between delay and energy consumption is, fortunately, possible to improve performance. Therefore, this study aims to enhance UAV network performance by reducing energy consumption, data transmission delay, and bit error rate. A multi-objective algorithm is employed to generate an adaptive optimal energy allocation strategy based on the balance between energy consumption and transmission delays. The results of theoretical analysis are illustrated with several examples. As herein demonstrated, the proposed solution effectively balances delay and energy efficiency in a customised system design and improves the bit error rate in UAV networks.