Future Aerial Communication—Multi-Tiered/ Hierarchical Aerial-Ground Integrated Networks

Dear Colleagues,

Aerial access networks and aerial-ground integrated networks are considered key enablers of future networks. Electrification has turned over a new leaf in aviation by introducing new types of aerial vehicles along with new means of transportation. Addressing a plethora of use cases, drones are gaining attention in the industry and are increasingly appearing in the sky. Emerging concepts of flying taxis enable passengers to be transported over several tens of kilometers. In addition, for the Internet of Things (IoT), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and high-altitude platforms (HAPs) are available to provide aerial computing services. Particularly after the proliferation of smart devices and diverse IoT requirements, we observe the dominance of cutting-edge applications with ever-increasing user expectations in terms of mobility, pervasiveness, and real-time response. Therefore, the deployment of low-altitude platforms (LAPs) and high-altitude platforms (HAPs) as legitimate candidates for future networks can satisfy the requirements of different applications because they can provide low latency, high computational capability, reliability, and availability. HAPSs make it easy to extend communication service coverage to a wider area, thus making it possible to provide highly reliable communication in times of disaster, high-capacity communication for ships and aircraft, and communication services for distant islands and remote areas. This Special Issue will provide a comprehensive collection of state-of-the-art theories, designs, optimizations, and applications of 3D networks for communication and computing. Original technical contributions are solicited in the relevant areas, including, but not limited to, the following:

• Space–air–ground integrated communications;
• Hybrid/integrated satellite and aerial communications;
• Space–air–ground integrated IoT networks;
• Energy-efficient space–air–ground integrated IoT networks;
• Deep/reinforcement learning-enabled intelligent IoT;
• Prototypes and test beds for space–air–ground integrated IoT networks;
• Develo** seamless integration mechanisms for satellite, UAV, and terrestrial networks;
• Addressing challenges related to mobility management in heterogeneous environments;
• Designing energy-efficient communication protocols: routing, swarm management, and clustering;
• Optimized resource allocation, scheduling of communication and computation, network optimization and routing design.

Dr. Muahmmad Yeasir Arafat
Guest Editor

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• future aerial communication
• multi-tiered integrated networks
• hierarchical aerial-ground integrated networks