QoE Maximization for Laser-Powered Multi-UAV Communication Networks

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communication is expected to play an important role in many applications, including emergency services, remote surveillance and even daily logistics, thanks to its great advantages such as flexible deployment and mobility support. In this paper, we propose a multi-UAV-aided communication scheme supported by laser power transfer (LPT), where the quality-of-experience (QoE) requirements of user equipment (UE) is considered. Specifically, to improve the sum QoE, we first maximize the sum of average data rates (ADRs) of all UEs through an alternating optimization of UAVs' positions, UE-network association and LPT station (LPTS)-network association. Then, we devise an advanced Gale-Shapley rematching (GSRM) scheme to address the intractable 0-1 programming problem in UE/LPTS-network association. Moreover, an L2-norm polynomial (L2NP) programming method is designed to transform the L2NP of the LPT-based UAV positioning problem into a convex form. Finally, a redundant resource reallocation (RRR) algorithm is designed to recycle and reallocate the excessive transmit power and backhaul capacity of both the base station (BS) and the UAVs, to further maximize the number of UEs satisfying the QoE requirements. Simulation results show that the proposed UAV-aided communication scheme can help more UEs achieve their QoE requirements at a reduced power consumption compared with existing solutions.