Hierarchical LLM-Driven Control for HAPS-Assisted UAV Networks: Joint Optimization of Flight and Connectivity

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Yan, Zijiang, Zhou, Hao, Jaafar, Wael, Pei, Jianhua, Wang, Ping, Yanikomeroglu, Halim, Tabassum, Hina
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Yan, Zijiang
Zhou, Hao
Jaafar, Wael
Pei, Jianhua
Wang, Ping
Yanikomeroglu, Halim
Tabassum, Hina
author_facet Yan, Zijiang
Zhou, Hao
Jaafar, Wael
Pei, Jianhua
Wang, Ping
Yanikomeroglu, Halim
Tabassum, Hina
contents Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly deployed in complex networked environments, yet the joint optimization of multi-UAV motion control and connectivity remains a fundamental challenge. In this paper, we study a multi-UAV system operating in an integrated terrestrial and non-terrestrial network (ITNTN) comprising terrestrial base stations and high-altitude platform stations (HAPS). We consider a three-dimensional (3D) aerial highway scenario where UAVs must adapt their motion to ensure collision avoidance, efficient traffic flow, and reliable communication under dynamic and partially observable conditions. We first model the problem as a hierarchical multi-objective partially observable Markov decision process (H-MO-POMDP), capturing the coupling between control and communication objectives. Based on this formulation, we propose a large language model (LLM)-driven hierarchical multi-rate control framework. At the global level, an LLM-based controller on the HAPS performs long-term planning for load balancing and handover decisions. At the local level, each UAV employs a hybrid controller that integrates a slow-timescale LLM for high-level spatial reasoning with a reinforcement learning agent for faster UAV-to-infrastructure (U2I) communication and motion control. We further develop a high-fidelity 3D simulation platform by integrating the gym-pybullet-drones environment with 3GPP-compliant RF/THz channel models. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed framework significantly outperforms state-of-the-art baselines, achieving a 14% increase in transportation efficiency and a 25% improvement in telecommunication throughput. Additionally, it achieves a 23% reduction in physical collision rates, demonstrating strong handover stability and zero-shot generalization in dynamic scenarios.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_11509
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Hierarchical LLM-Driven Control for HAPS-Assisted UAV Networks: Joint Optimization of Flight and Connectivity
Yan, Zijiang
Zhou, Hao
Jaafar, Wael
Pei, Jianhua
Wang, Ping
Yanikomeroglu, Halim
Tabassum, Hina
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
Multiagent Systems
Systems and Control
Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly deployed in complex networked environments, yet the joint optimization of multi-UAV motion control and connectivity remains a fundamental challenge. In this paper, we study a multi-UAV system operating in an integrated terrestrial and non-terrestrial network (ITNTN) comprising terrestrial base stations and high-altitude platform stations (HAPS). We consider a three-dimensional (3D) aerial highway scenario where UAVs must adapt their motion to ensure collision avoidance, efficient traffic flow, and reliable communication under dynamic and partially observable conditions. We first model the problem as a hierarchical multi-objective partially observable Markov decision process (H-MO-POMDP), capturing the coupling between control and communication objectives. Based on this formulation, we propose a large language model (LLM)-driven hierarchical multi-rate control framework. At the global level, an LLM-based controller on the HAPS performs long-term planning for load balancing and handover decisions. At the local level, each UAV employs a hybrid controller that integrates a slow-timescale LLM for high-level spatial reasoning with a reinforcement learning agent for faster UAV-to-infrastructure (U2I) communication and motion control. We further develop a high-fidelity 3D simulation platform by integrating the gym-pybullet-drones environment with 3GPP-compliant RF/THz channel models. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed framework significantly outperforms state-of-the-art baselines, achieving a 14% increase in transportation efficiency and a 25% improvement in telecommunication throughput. Additionally, it achieves a 23% reduction in physical collision rates, demonstrating strong handover stability and zero-shot generalization in dynamic scenarios.
title Hierarchical LLM-Driven Control for HAPS-Assisted UAV Networks: Joint Optimization of Flight and Connectivity
topic Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
Multiagent Systems
Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.11509