Energy-Efficient Deployment and Resource Allocation for O-RAN-Enabled UAV-Assisted Communication

Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) has brought a significant transformation in the field of communication networks. Its openness propels communication networks towards a more open, flexible, and efficient direction. Meanwhile, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) communication, as a key technology in the sixth generation mobile communication network, offers more flexible and efficient solutions to address diverse environments and requirements. On this basis, we investigate the O-RAN-enabled UAV-assisted network architecture, in which the UAV assists the terrestrial network to enhance the wireless coverage performance. To further explore the advantages of the proposed architecture, we propose a joint problem involving radio unit association, aerial radio unit deployment, and resource allocation, with the objective of maximizing network energy efficiency. To tackle this problem, we design a double-loop-based algorithm. Specifically, we employ the Dinkelbach method in the outer loop to handle the fractional form of the objective function and devise an iterative algorithm based on Block Coordinate Descent architecture in the inner loop to optimize the decoupled sub-problems. Comprehensive simulation results are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposal.