A Novel Flying Ad Hoc Network MAC Protocol with Beamforming Antenna Array

Due to the mobility of flying ad-hoc network (FANET), regular updates of neighbor information are essential. Existing neighbor discovery methods with directional antenna often rely on multi-round full-space scanning, which underutilizes known information and results in considerable network overhead. A novel medium access control (MAC) protocol designed for beamforming antenna array FANET is introduced in this paper, with a focus on network maintenance. The protocol partitions neighbor discovery frames by tasks, effectively reducing frame length and network overhead. Additionally, it employs a beam hierarchy narrowing mechanism to reduce link interference issues. Simulation results show that the protocol achieves lower network overhead and reduced latency, making it ideal for FANET with beamforming antenna array.