Research of Routing Protocols for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Ad Hoc Network

Multi-UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) system composed of multiple UAVs connected through ad hoc network have been rapidly developed and widely used in recent years. UAV ad hoc network gives UAV the advantages of high efficiency, scalability, and low cost. However, the high mobility of UAV and the frequent changes of network topology make it difficult for traditional routing protocols to be suitable for UAV ad hoc network. The routing protocol has become a difficult point and hot topic in the research of UAV ad hoc network. This paper analyzes the characteristics and design considerations of UAV ad hoc network and introduces the classification of routing protocols used in UAV ad hoc network for aerial drone communications, including topology-based routing protocols and position-based routing protocols. A brief analysis and introduction to these routing protocols is given. Finally, the challenges of the research are discussed.