UAV Selection in Aerial Integrated Sensing and Communication Networks

The application of integrated sensing and communications (ISACs) technology in air-ground networks, which include unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), offers unique opportunities for improving both sensing and communication performances. However, this type of networks are also sensitive to the peculiar characteristics of the aerial communications environment, which include shadowing and scattering caused by man-made structures. This paper investigates an aerial ISAC network and proposes a UAV-selection strategy for improved communication performance. We first derive analytical expressions for the received signal-to-interference ratio for both communication and sensing functions. These expressions are then used to analyze the outage probability of the communication part and the ergodic radar estimation information rate of the sensing part. The presented results reveal the impact of shadowing severity and interference on the system’s performance.