Neural-Guided Adaptive Clustering for UAV-Based User Grouping in 5G/6G Post-Disaster Networks

In post-disaster scenarios, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) acting as Mobile Aerial Base Stations (MABSs) offer a flexible means of restoring communication for isolated user equipment (UE) when conventional infrastructure is unavailable. More broadly, clustering is a fundamental tool for organizing spatially distributed entities in wireless, IoT, and sensor networks. However, static algorithms such as Affinity Propagation Clustering (APC) often fail to generalize across diverse environments and user densities. This study introduces a hybrid clustering framework that dynamically selects between APC and density-based clustering (DBSCAN), guided by a neural classifier trained on spatial distribution features. The chosen centroids then seed a Genetic Algorithm (GA) that evolves UAV trajectories under multiple performance indicators, including coverage, capacity, and path efficiency. Simulation results demonstrate that the hybrid clustering approach improves the adaptability and effectiveness of UAV deployments by learning context-aware clustering strategies. Beyond UAV-assisted disaster recovery, the proposed framework illustrates how intelligent clustering selection can enhance performance in heterogeneous, real-time applications such as IoT connectivity, smart city monitoring, and large-scale sensor coordination.