Progressive UAV deployment method for ad-hoc network configuration

Drone deployment for expanding communication coverage through AP-based distributed movement and triangular area maximization

This technology is a progressive deployment method for establishing an ad-hoc network in a target area, where multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) depart from an access point (AP) and move in different directions, gradually expanding their deployment positions while maintaining connectivity. Each UAV first moves to the edge of the AP's communication radius and then repeatedly moves to new positions based on its neighbors until the coverage area can no longer be expanded.

Determining the optimal placement of UAVs to eliminate communication dead zones in large, complex areas has historically been challenging, as methods requiring a full preliminary scan of the region to calculate optimal positions are excessively time-consuming.

This technology divides movement directions so that UAVs cover non-overlapping areas. If a UAV has two or more neighbors within communication range, it moves to a position that maximizes the triangular area formed with those two neighbors; if it has only one neighbor, it moves to maximize the triangle formed by its current position, the neighbor, and the new position. When encountering obstacles, it explores the perimeter to define its coverage area and positions itself to prevent communication interference. If unexplored areas remain, new UAVs are deployed to continue expansion, or the target area can be subdivided for the same process. Applicable to emergency communication networks in disaster zones, mountain search and rescue, and tactical military relay, this method allows for immediate coverage expansion upon deployment without a global map, all while maintaining a continuous connection to the AP.

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Key Features:

• A step of determining different movement directions for multiple UAVs to explore a target area, starting from an access point that provides a communication link
• A step of each UAV departing from the communication link access point and moving along its determined direction to the boundary of the communication radius
• A step of expanding the deployment area by moving a UAV to a new position that maximizes the triangular area formed with neighboring UAVs while maintaining a connection to the access point
• A step of repeating the expansion process until no further expansion is possible while maintaining connectivity for all UAVs

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This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT for the design of fog network architecture for local-based distributed processing through efficient computing, storage, and network resource sharing among IoT devices.

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