Strategic Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Routing: An Energy-Efficient Approach

In this digital age, network connectivity is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Adopting fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks, inefficient communication systems prevail, but not all areas are 5G-ready. Network connectivity has been a long-running issue, especially in areas with limited signal towers. Recently, drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV s) are gaining traction as a viable solution to extend the reach of signal towers. Research is being conducted to adopt this technology in developing flying base stations (FBS). The application of FBS can potentially minimize the gap between regions where a cellular connection is limited or may not reach. However, the energy consumption of FBS is one of the critical factors for its long-term success. Given the limited battery capacity of UAVs, it is essential to minimize energy consumption during operational use. This research aims to explore the application of Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH), improved LEACH (ILEACH), and optimized heuristic ILEACH (OHILEACH) algorithms in a fleet of UAVs intending to minimize energy consumption. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of the performance of the three LEACH algorithms is explored in terms of energy retention. After a thorough comparative analysis, the application of OHILEACH proved to be the most energy efficient.