Energy Efficient UAV Placement for Multiple Users in IoT Networks

Abstract

In this paper, the problem of optimal placement of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is addressed for seamless indoor IoT connectivity of the worst-case (farthest) multiple users. The optimization of the transmitted power from UAV is carried out so that all the users can receive the transmitted data from the UAV with a minimum path loss. The proposed method can be used for signals such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or cellular, amongst others. We utilize the ITU-R recommended path loss model and place the UAV, ensuring seamless connectivity of the worst-case users. The relationship between the locations of the user and UAV is also established along with the derivation of the optimality condition for maximum power transmitted. The theoretical results are in good agreement with the simulation results. The proposed method is validated for multiple users instead of a single user in previous methods using numerical experiments.