Data Routing Challenges in UAV-assisted Vehicular Ad hoc Networks

Abstract

Reliable and efficient transportation system in smart cities relies on effective integration of connected and autonomous vehicles. Although there has been a lot of improvements in this technology, additional support from the emerging unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are needed to streamline the future transportation systems' capabilities. This paper investigates the problem of data routing in UAV-assisted vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) composed of multiple flying nodes and intelligent cars aiming at exchanging messages through the dynamic network topology. The introduction of UAVs can offer multiple advantages to the routing process thanks to their free mobility and enhanced channel quality but, at the same time, they are subject to many limitations including their limited batteries and positioning issues. This paper provides a comprehensive survey about the advantages and challenges related to the use of UAVs in data routing in VANETs. Then, it discusses some existing routing protocols for connected vehicles supported by UAVs. Finally, the paper introduces the idea of combining routing protocols with UAV locations and/or path adjustment solutions to enable efficient data routing for delay-tolerant applications.