Multi-Connectivity for UAVs: A Measurement Study of Integrating Cellular, Aerial Mesh, and LEO Satellite LinksVise andre og tillknytning
2026 (engelsk)Inngår i: 2026 Joint European Conference on Networks and Communications and 6G Summit, EuCNC/6G Summit 2026, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) , 2026, s. 745-750Konferansepaper, Publicerat paper (Fagfellevurdert)
Abstract [en]
Future uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) systems increasingly combine heterogeneous communication technologies, such as low-latency aerial mesh, terrestrial cellular, and satellite links, to improve robustness and coverage. Multipath transport is a natural mechanism for aggregating these links, yet its ability to support real-time UAV services in highly heterogeneous environments remains insufficiently characterized. We present a measurement-driven study based on UAV flight experiments in an integrated network comprising UAV-to-UAV aerial mesh, private cellular, and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity. Using Multipath TCP (MPTCP) as a representative lossless, in-order multipath transport framework, we find that aggregation can preserve end-to-end connectivity under severe link outages. However, large round-trip time (RTT) heterogeneity amplifies packet reordering, leading to substantial receiver-side buffering and bursty delivery. In addition, when the available links do not provide sufficient capacity for the offered load, pronounced sender-side buffering emerges. These effects cause real-time streaming to violate delay constraints, including cases where aggregate capacity is sufficient. To interpret these results, we formalize the distinction between connectivity continuity and service continuity and show empirically that maintaining connectivity is necessary but not sufficient for timely real-time delivery in multi-technology UAV networks. The findings motivate multipath designs that explicitly account for delay constraints, rather than optimizing for connectivity alone.
sted, utgiver, år, opplag, sider
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) , 2026. s. 745-750
Emneord [en]
aerial mesh, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, multipath transport, terrestrial cellular networks, uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs)
HSV kategori
Identifikatorer
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-386134DOI: 10.1109/EuCNC/6GSummit68295.2026.11577600Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105044427388OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-386134DiVA, id: diva2:2088305
Konferanse
2026 Joint European Conference on Networks and Communications and 6G Summit, EuCNC/6G Summit 2026, Malaga, Spain, Jun 02 2026 - Jun 05 2026
Merknad
Part of ISBN 9798331570194
QC 20260727
2026-07-272026-07-272026-07-27bibliografisk kontrollert