Maximizing Uplink Data Transmission of LEO Satellite-Based Wireless-Powered IoT

This paper analyzes the uplink performance of IoT devices communicating with LEO satellites. We consider a scenario where IoT devices are deployed in hard-to-reach areas; hence, energy harvesting is the only sustainable solution. Due to the battery-free assumption of IoT devices, we consider a K-tier PB network to provide a sustainable energy supply for the IoT network. We particularly focus on two uplink communication scenarios: (i) direct communication from IoT devices to LEO satellites and (ii) indirect communication via GWs. The system’s performance is evaluated based on the two-stage ’harvest-then-transmit’ strategy, in which the IoT device harvests energy from all available energy sources during the first stage, referred to as the harvesting sub-slot. The harvested energy is then utilized to transmit information to its desired receiver in the second stage, known as the communication sub-slot. More precisely, we derive the joint uplink coverage probability if the following two conditions are satisfied: (i) the transmit power of the typical IoT device is sufficient, and (ii) the received SINR is above a predefined threshold. Furthermore, we investigate the effect of the proposed techniques on performance metrics such as the average number of successful data packet transmissions per day as well as the average amount of data uploaded per day. Finally, we explore the optimal network parameters to improve energy harvesting, communication reliability, and coverage for both direct and indirect scenarios.