Distributed Coordination for Heterogeneous Non-Terrestrial Networks

Fuente: arXiv
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Deng, Jikang, Zhou, Hui, Alouini, Mohamed-Slim
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866909997231767552
author Deng, Jikang
Zhou, Hui
Alouini, Mohamed-Slim
author_facet Deng, Jikang
Zhou, Hui
Alouini, Mohamed-Slim
contents To achieve global coverage and ubiquitous connectivity, the non-terrestrial network (NTN) has been regarded as a key enabler in the sixth generation (6G) network, which includes uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), high-altitude platforms (HAPs), and satellites. Since the unique characteristics of various NTN platforms strongly affect their implementation and lead to a highly dynamic and heterogeneous NTN scenario, achieving distributed coordination remains an important research direction. However, the explicit and systematic analysis of the individual layers' challenges and corresponding distributed coordination solutions in heterogeneous NTNs has not been proposed yet. Therefore, in this paper, we summarize the unique characteristics of each NTN platform, identify communication challenges within individual layers, and propose potential delay-tolerant or delay-sensitive coordinated solutions accordingly. We further analyse the feasibility of leveraging multi-agent deep reinforcement learning (MADRL) algorithms to achieve the proposed coordinated solutions. Finally, we present a case study of the joint scheduling and trajectory optimization problem in heterogeneous NTN, where a two-timescale multi-agent deep deterministic policy gradient (TTS-MADDPG) algorithm is developed to validate the effectiveness of distributed coordination.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_17366
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Distributed Coordination for Heterogeneous Non-Terrestrial Networks
Deng, Jikang
Zhou, Hui
Alouini, Mohamed-Slim
Systems and Control
To achieve global coverage and ubiquitous connectivity, the non-terrestrial network (NTN) has been regarded as a key enabler in the sixth generation (6G) network, which includes uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), high-altitude platforms (HAPs), and satellites. Since the unique characteristics of various NTN platforms strongly affect their implementation and lead to a highly dynamic and heterogeneous NTN scenario, achieving distributed coordination remains an important research direction. However, the explicit and systematic analysis of the individual layers' challenges and corresponding distributed coordination solutions in heterogeneous NTNs has not been proposed yet. Therefore, in this paper, we summarize the unique characteristics of each NTN platform, identify communication challenges within individual layers, and propose potential delay-tolerant or delay-sensitive coordinated solutions accordingly. We further analyse the feasibility of leveraging multi-agent deep reinforcement learning (MADRL) algorithms to achieve the proposed coordinated solutions. Finally, we present a case study of the joint scheduling and trajectory optimization problem in heterogeneous NTN, where a two-timescale multi-agent deep deterministic policy gradient (TTS-MADDPG) algorithm is developed to validate the effectiveness of distributed coordination.
title Distributed Coordination for Heterogeneous Non-Terrestrial Networks
topic Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.17366