Drone Networking in the 6G Era: A Technology Overview

Sixth generation (6G) wireless communication networks are envisioned to be empowered with novel enabling technologies to guarantee ubiquitous coverage requirements, heterogeneous communication scenarios, and improved network intelligence, spectral rates, and security. The 6G vision is not only limited to terrestrial networks, but also extends to non-terrestrial networks encompassing satellites and aerial networks, thus exploring a full spectrum of heterogeneous communication links. In 6G scenarios, the role of unmanned aerial vehicles is of paramount importance, as flying devices are expected to densely populate aerial space, providing an intermediate network layer between ground networks and space ones. As a vision of fully integrated 6G heterogeneous networks, ground, aerial, and satellite networks will coexist, thus realizing the space-air-ground integrated communication network for 6G scenarios. This work highlights several novel 6G enabling technologies, and presents the detailed study and evaluation of communication technology candidates from the perspective of aerial communication networks, key design considerations, and technical challenges.