中国邮电高校学报(英文) ›› 2022, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (1): 50-63.doi: 10.19682/j.cnki.1005-8885.2022.2006

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Aerial edge computing for 6G

Mao Sun, Zhang Yan   

  1. 1. College of Computer Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610101, China 2. Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway
  • 收稿日期:2021-12-20 修回日期:2022-01-16 接受日期:2022-01-22 出版日期:2022-02-26 发布日期:2022-02-28
  • 通讯作者: Corresponding author: Zhang Yan

Aerial edge computing for 6G

Mao Sun, Zhang Yan   

  1. 1. College of Computer Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610101, China 2. Department of Informatics, University of Oslo, Oslo 0316, Norway
  • Received:2021-12-20 Revised:2022-01-16 Accepted:2022-01-22 Online:2022-02-26 Published:2022-02-28
  • Contact: Corresponding author: Zhang Yan

摘要: In the 6th generation mobile communication system (6G) era, a large number of delay-sensitive and computation-intensive applications impose great pressure on resource-constrained Internet of things (IoT) devices. Aerial edge computing is envisioned as a promising and cost-effective solution, especially in hostile environments without terrestrial infrastructures. Therefore, this paper focuses on integrating aerial edge computing into 6G for providing ubiquitous computing services for IoT devices. This paper first presents the layered network architecture of aerial edge computing for 6G. The benefits, potential applications, and design challenges are also discussed in detail. Next, several key techniques like unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) deployment, operation mode, offloading mode, caching policy, and resource management are highlighted to present how to integrated aerial edge computing into 6G. Then, the joint UAV deployment optimization and computation offloading method is designed to minimize the computing delay for a typical aerial edge computing network. Numerical results reveal the significant delay reduction of the proposed method compared with the other benchmark methods. Finally, several open issues for aerial edge computing in 6G are elaborated to provide some guidance for future research.

关键词: mobile edge computing, unmanned aerial vehicle, the 6th generation mobile communication system

Abstract: In the 6th generation mobile communication system (6G) era, a large number of delay-sensitive and computation-intensive applications impose great pressure on resource-constrained Internet of things (IoT) devices. Aerial edge computing is envisioned as a promising and cost-effective solution, especially in hostile environments without terrestrial infrastructures. Therefore, this paper focuses on integrating aerial edge computing into 6G for providing ubiquitous computing services for IoT devices. This paper first presents the layered network architecture of aerial edge computing for 6G. The benefits, potential applications, and design challenges are also discussed in detail. Next, several key techniques like unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) deployment, operation mode, offloading mode, caching policy, and resource management are highlighted to present how to integrated aerial edge computing into 6G. Then, the joint UAV deployment optimization and computation offloading method is designed to minimize the computing delay for a typical aerial edge computing network. Numerical results reveal the significant delay reduction of the proposed method compared with the other benchmark methods. Finally, several open issues for aerial edge computing in 6G are elaborated to provide some guidance for future research.

Key words: mobile edge computing, unmanned aerial vehicle, the 6th generation mobile communication system

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