Towards an optimal 3-D design and deployment of 6G UAVs for interference mitigation under terrestrial networks

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have opened new communication possibilities by being able to access remote areas. Their ability to serve a large number of users based on demand and adaptability is a key strength. In Sixth Generation (6G) networks, UAVs are highly valued for their cost-efficiency and versatile deployment. However, the mobility of UAVs introduces different types of interference issues, resulting in a decrease in network performance and quality of service (QoS) for edge users. To address these challenges, this paper introduces a clustering-based solution involving three main steps. Firstly, UAVs are deployed in three-dimension (3D) space based on user requests using mini-batch K-mean clustering Subsequently, re-clustering is explored to tackle load balancing within clusters. Finally, outliers and boundary users are classified to enhance QoS for edge users. This model effectively reduces interference and boosts UAV reliability in terrestrial networks. Also, a case study is presented to show how UAVs can mitigate interference in maritime communication within terrestrial networks. Numerical results demonstrated that the proposed scheme increases throughput by 33.06% and reduces energy consumption and time delay by 73.15% and 9.15%, respectively, as compared to the existing baseline schemes.