DPkCR: Distributed Proactive k-Connectivity Recovery Algorithm for UAV-Based MANETs

Maintenance of connectivity in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) and especially in flying ad hoc networks, consisting of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), has crucial importance. Missions planned within these types of networks can be interrupted due to node failures, link errors, etc. This case becomes more critical when the application is heavily communication-dependent. To alleviate such problems, in this article, we propose a distributed proactive $k$-connectivity recovery algorithm (DP$k$CR) for UAV-based MANETs. To this end, the algorithm has been developed and tested by providing realistic scenarios. The time and message complexity analysis of the algorithm is presented. Moreover, to analyze the performance of the proposed algorithm, we compared it with other $k$-connectivity restoration algorithms in the literature. Simulation results revealed that DP$k$CR outperforms the alternatives in terms of convergence time for the recovery phase and, subsequently, in terms of energy consumption. Furthermore, DP$k$CR provides improvements to the bandwidth requirements for the restoration.

I. Introduction

MOBILE ad hoc networks (MANET) and flying ad hoc networks (FANET), such as connected unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms, have arisen in various applications, including military operations, cargo delivery, traffic management, agriculture, and disaster response. Independent of the application, these networks have a common data flow where all network nodes aggregate and forward the observed information to one or more sink nodes. Hence, connectivity is an essential property for many MANET applications since, when a MANET loses its connectivity, some of the deployed nodes cannot communicate with the sink node. This situation can be addressed by solutions guaranteeing -connectivity between network nodes.