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A Thorough Analysis of Radio Resource Assignment for UAV-Enhanced Vehicular Sidelink Communications

Francesca Conserva, Francesco Linsalata, Marouan Mizmizi, Maurizio Magarini, Umberto Spagnolini, Roberto Verdone, Chiara Buratti

TL;DR

This work addresses the reliability challenges of mmWave V2X sidelink by deploying beamforming UAV relays to overcome severe path loss and LoS blockages. It develops a cross-layer analytical framework centered on the novel metric of average access probability, and proposes two radio resource assignment schemes—Fair RRA and Beam-based RRA—to optimize resource usage under latency constraints. Through a detailed model of UAV beamforming, channel propagation, and traffic-aware access probability, the paper shows that altitude optimization and footprint-aware resource allocation significantly improve QoS, with Beam-based RRA typically outperforming Fair RRA under realistic traffic densities. The results provide actionable guidance for UAV deployment and scheduling in V2X sidelink systems to achieve reliable, low-latency communications.

Abstract

The rapid expansion of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) and the shift towards millimiter-wave (mmWave) frequencies offer unprecedented opportunities to enhance road safety and traffic efficiency. Sidelink communication, enabling direct Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communications, play a pivotal role in this transformation. As communication technologies transit to higher frequencies, the associated increase in bandwidth comes at the cost of a severe path and penetration loss. In response to these challenges, we investigate a network configuration that deploys beamforming-capable Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as relay nodes. In this work, we present a comprehensive analytical framework with a groundbreaking performance metric, i.e. average access probability, that quantifies user satisfaction, considering factors across different protocol stack layers. Additionally, we introduce two Radio Resources Assignment (RRA) methods tailored for UAVs. These methods consider parameters such as resource availability, vehicle distribution, and latency requirements. Through our analytical approach, we optimize the average access probability by controlling UAV altitude based on traffic density. Our numerical findings validate the proposed model and strategy, which ensures that Quality of Service (QoS) standards are met in the domain of Vehicle-to-Anything (V2X) sidelink communications.

A Thorough Analysis of Radio Resource Assignment for UAV-Enhanced Vehicular Sidelink Communications

TL;DR

This work addresses the reliability challenges of mmWave V2X sidelink by deploying beamforming UAV relays to overcome severe path loss and LoS blockages. It develops a cross-layer analytical framework centered on the novel metric of average access probability, and proposes two radio resource assignment schemes—Fair RRA and Beam-based RRA—to optimize resource usage under latency constraints. Through a detailed model of UAV beamforming, channel propagation, and traffic-aware access probability, the paper shows that altitude optimization and footprint-aware resource allocation significantly improve QoS, with Beam-based RRA typically outperforming Fair RRA under realistic traffic densities. The results provide actionable guidance for UAV deployment and scheduling in V2X sidelink systems to achieve reliable, low-latency communications.

Abstract

The rapid expansion of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) and the shift towards millimiter-wave (mmWave) frequencies offer unprecedented opportunities to enhance road safety and traffic efficiency. Sidelink communication, enabling direct Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communications, play a pivotal role in this transformation. As communication technologies transit to higher frequencies, the associated increase in bandwidth comes at the cost of a severe path and penetration loss. In response to these challenges, we investigate a network configuration that deploys beamforming-capable Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as relay nodes. In this work, we present a comprehensive analytical framework with a groundbreaking performance metric, i.e. average access probability, that quantifies user satisfaction, considering factors across different protocol stack layers. Additionally, we introduce two Radio Resources Assignment (RRA) methods tailored for UAVs. These methods consider parameters such as resource availability, vehicle distribution, and latency requirements. Through our analytical approach, we optimize the average access probability by controlling UAV altitude based on traffic density. Our numerical findings validate the proposed model and strategy, which ensures that Quality of Service (QoS) standards are met in the domain of Vehicle-to-Anything (V2X) sidelink communications.
Paper Structure (11 sections, 17 equations, 4 figures, 1 table)

This paper contains 11 sections, 17 equations, 4 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. System Model
  3. UAV Beamforming Design
  4. Channel Model
  5. Performance assessment of UAV-assisted radio resource assignment
  6. Radio Resources Assignment Algorithms
  7. Fair RRA
  8. Beam-based RRA
  9. Average Access Probability Analysis
  10. Numerical Results
  11. Conclusions

Figures (4)

  • Figure 1: UAV-Enhanced vehicular sidelink communications scenario: CAV, seeking to establish communication with other CAV, but facing a blocked V2V link, exploit UAV as relay.
  • Figure 2: Angles involved in the UAV beam footprint calculation.
  • Figure 3: Comparison of average access probability versus UAV height (a) and vehicle density (b) for different conditions.
  • Figure 4: Connected users versus served users with both RRAs.