The Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Public Safety Communication and Optimization of Coverage (Case Study - Cook Islands)

Date
2017
Authors
Harmon, Harmon
Supervisor
Liu, William
Item type
Thesis
Degree name
Master of Computer and Information Sciences
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Auckland University of Technology
Abstract

It is in the most critical situation when lives are at risk that the need for reliable and stable communication channels are essential. An effective communication infrastructure is extremely important for the following reasons: providing safety and emergency information to the general public, for first responders to coordinate rescue and recovery plans, families need to communicate to loved ones and check for their safety, and civilian needs to communicate with emergency first responders. The research conducted provides information on the latest advanced technology. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) such as drones are used as Unmanned Aerial Base Stations (UABSs) to provide temporary solutions to communication coverage in situations where part of an existing communication infrastructure is damaged and not functioning due to a natural disaster. By using the simulation, we are able to examine the throughput coverage achieved by utilizing the mobility feature of UAVs. The results of the simulation show that using UABSs in a dysfunctional communication system, can improve the throughput coverage and the spectral efficiency of the communication network when the UABSs are placed at optimized locations.

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Keywords
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles , Communication , Coverage , Optimization , Public safety , Cook Islands
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