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Blockchain-Enhanced UAV Networks for Post-Disaster Communication: A Decentralized Flocking Approach

Sana Hafeez, Runze Cheng, Lina Mohjazi, Yao Sun, Muhammad Ali Imran

TL;DR

A consortium blockchain architecture that ensures secure and private multi-agency coordination by controlling access and safeguarding the privacy of sensitive data is proposed and an optimized hybrid consensus protocol that merges Delegated Proof of Stake and Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance is developed, aiming to achieve an effective balance between efficiency, security, and resilience against node failures.

Abstract

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have significant potential for agile communication and relief coordination in post-disaster scenarios, particularly when ground infrastructure is compromised. However, efficiently coordinating and securing flocks of heterogeneous UAVs from different service providers poses significant challenges related to privacy, scalability, lightweight consensus protocols, and comprehensive cybersecurity mechanisms. This study introduces a robust blockchain-enabled framework designed to tackle these technical challenges through a combination of consensus protocols, smart contracts, and cryptographic techniques. First, we propose a consortium blockchain architecture that ensures secure and private multi-agency coordination by controlling access and safeguarding the privacy of sensitive data. Second, we develop an optimized hybrid consensus protocol that merges Delegated Proof of Stake and Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (DPOS-PBFT), aiming to achieve an effective balance between efficiency, security, and resilience against node failures. Finally, we introduce decentralized flocking algorithms that facilitate adaptable and autonomous operations among specialized UAV clusters, ensuring critical disaster relief functions under conditions of uncertain connectivity. Comprehensive simulations demonstrate the system achieved linear scaling of throughput up to 500 UAV nodes, with only a 50ms increase in latency from 10 to 500 nodes. The framework maintained high throughput and low latency despite spoofing, denial-of-service (DoS), and tampering attacks, showing strong cyber resilience. Communication latencies were kept under 10ms for diverse UAV operations through self-optimizing network intelligence, with median values around 2-3ms.

Blockchain-Enhanced UAV Networks for Post-Disaster Communication: A Decentralized Flocking Approach

TL;DR

A consortium blockchain architecture that ensures secure and private multi-agency coordination by controlling access and safeguarding the privacy of sensitive data is proposed and an optimized hybrid consensus protocol that merges Delegated Proof of Stake and Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance is developed, aiming to achieve an effective balance between efficiency, security, and resilience against node failures.

Abstract

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have significant potential for agile communication and relief coordination in post-disaster scenarios, particularly when ground infrastructure is compromised. However, efficiently coordinating and securing flocks of heterogeneous UAVs from different service providers poses significant challenges related to privacy, scalability, lightweight consensus protocols, and comprehensive cybersecurity mechanisms. This study introduces a robust blockchain-enabled framework designed to tackle these technical challenges through a combination of consensus protocols, smart contracts, and cryptographic techniques. First, we propose a consortium blockchain architecture that ensures secure and private multi-agency coordination by controlling access and safeguarding the privacy of sensitive data. Second, we develop an optimized hybrid consensus protocol that merges Delegated Proof of Stake and Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (DPOS-PBFT), aiming to achieve an effective balance between efficiency, security, and resilience against node failures. Finally, we introduce decentralized flocking algorithms that facilitate adaptable and autonomous operations among specialized UAV clusters, ensuring critical disaster relief functions under conditions of uncertain connectivity. Comprehensive simulations demonstrate the system achieved linear scaling of throughput up to 500 UAV nodes, with only a 50ms increase in latency from 10 to 500 nodes. The framework maintained high throughput and low latency despite spoofing, denial-of-service (DoS), and tampering attacks, showing strong cyber resilience. Communication latencies were kept under 10ms for diverse UAV operations through self-optimizing network intelligence, with median values around 2-3ms.
Paper Structure (23 sections, 15 equations, 9 figures, 4 tables, 4 algorithms)

This paper contains 23 sections, 15 equations, 9 figures, 4 tables, 4 algorithms.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Background
  3. Motivation
  4. Contributions and Organization
  5. Literature Review
  6. Blockchain-Enabled UAV Solutions for Disaster Response
  7. Consensus Protocols and Smart Contracts for UAV Blockchains
  8. System Architecture and Models
  9. Communication Model
  10. Consortium Blockchain Architecture
  11. Security Measurements
  12. Decentralized Flocking Model for UAV Disaster Response
  13. Concrete Examples of Flocking Algorithms for UAV Disaster Relief Functions
  14. Reynolds Flocking Rules and Their Application
  15. Dynamic State Propagation and Battery Model
  16. ...and 8 more sections

Figures (9)

  • Figure 1: The Architecture for Blockchain-Enabled UAV Coordination in Disaster Response.
  • Figure 2: The 2D spatial distribution of flocking UAVs engaged in post-disaster activities. More detailed description is provided in Section \ref{['sec:Bio']}.
  • Figure 3: Detailed Working Mechanism of the DPoS-PBFT Consensus Protocol.
  • Figure 4: (a) Throughput, Latency over Time (b) Latency Distribution.
  • Figure 5: Throughput and Latency Over Time.
  • ...and 4 more figures