UAV-Assisted Multi-path Parallel Routing for mmWave-Based Wireless Networks

The Millimeter Wave (mmWave) spectrum band, with its high bandwidth, will significantly satisfy the need for high data-demand of the next-generation communication networks. However, transmission over the mmWave band suffers from a short communication range due to its high frequency. Such short-range communication can dramatically affect the network connectivity in mesh-based networks, leading to excessive packet loss. To improve the network connectivity and thus the throughput, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)/drones can be utilized as relays. Along with UAVs, multi-path routing is needed to ensure better network reliability through different routes. In this paper, we propose maximizing mmWave-based mesh network connectivity via optimally deploying a number of UAVs/drones and enabling multiple parallel paths at the upper network layers. We model the optimization problem for minimizing end-to-end delay with a minimum number of drones, we further perform a delay analysis for the received queues and obtain the link layer end-to-end delay. The evaluation is first performed through MATLAB and then verified using a realistic scenario in the NS-3 simulator by assuming an IEEE 802.11ad-based wireless mesh network. The results show that the proposed UAV-assisted schemes achieve higher throughput and shorter delay compared to baselines scenario with no deployment of UAVs or single transmissions.