A Multi-Attribute Graph based Handover Scheme for LEO Satellite Communication Networks

The satellite-terrestrial integrated networks, which consists of satellite and terrestrial nodes, has attracted increasing attention in recent years since its wide coverage area and flexible connectivity. However, Due to the mobility of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite networks, one satellite is unable to provide users with continuous service. In this work, we proposed an intelligent handover scheme with multi-attribute graph (MAG) and genetic algorithm to determine the handover scheme. Firstly, we modeled the handover process as finding an optimal path from the MAG, which including the elevation angle, coverage time, and free channel state. Using the critic method, we weighted each target and transformed it into an optimization problem with a single objective since traditional methods cannot achieve all of the objectives simultaneously. Then the optimal handover path can be selected by genetic algorithm. The simulation results show that our handover scheme reduces communication delay and handover time.