Device-to-Device Discovery and Localization Assisted by UAVs in Pervasive Public Safety Networks

Device-to-device (D2D) can be a key paradigm to design Pervasive Public safety Networks (PPNs) which could allow the User Equipment (UEs) to communicate directly in disaster scenarios. Recently, the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has been suggested in PSNs to enhance situational awareness and disseminate critical information to the deployed Base Station (BS) by providing reliable connectivity. In this paper, we are interested in direct discovery, one of the functions provided by Proximity Services (ProSe). We consider a disaster situation when no core network is available and transmit the discovery message over an UAV-to-UE link. Simulation results are presented and discussed based on the root-MUSIC algorithm to locate the affected UE assisted by UAV, achieving a ca. one meter accuracy at over 200 m. Furthermore, we analyse the performance of the link by calculating Packet Error Ratio (PER) and throughput, achieving up to 11 Mbps.