A mobility model for UAV ad hoc network

Abstract

With the technological advances, there is an increasing attention on micro-UAVs in the military area as well as in the civilian domain. They are used as swarm (several UAVs) forming a UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) since they are relatively cheap and offer better performance than one aircraft. The UAVs, in a UAS, have to exchange information with each other and with the control station in order to create a clear vision of the swarm situation and the task performance. This exchange is made possible by the application of an ad hoc network between UAVs which is a challenging issue because of the node mobility, the network topology change, and the operation communication requirements in term of quality of service (delay, throughput or loss rate for instance). This paper presents a realistic mobility model designed for UAV ad hoc networks. since evaluating the performances of ad hoc protocols is an important step in order to predict possible problems that can affect the system in the real environment. This mobility model behavior is compared to the well-known mobility model behavior Random-Way Point. It is also compared to real movements traces using several metrics.