Rapid data collection and processing in dense urban edge computing networks with drone assistance

In the edge computing network systems for the Internet of Things (IoT), there is growing attention to utilizing drones for collecting data and maintaining the freshness of data processing. This study focuses on analyzing the problems related to trajectory planning and task scheduling in a single drone-assisted edge computing network within a dense, three-dimensional urban environment. We first design an edge computing network architecture and establish an air-to-ground channel model between the drone and ground mobile devices to address the blockage caused by buildings in urban environments. Subsequently, to provide effective edge computing services, we structure the problem as a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP) and introduce an optimization framework based on reinforcement learning. This improves data timeliness and reduces energy consumption.