A dual-dimension mode time MAC protocol for dense UAV networks

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are widely used in many scenarios with wireless communication technology improving, while the dense deployment of UAVs leads to limited communication capacity as well as complex network structure. This paper proposes a dual-dimension MAC protocol based on vortex modes and time (MT-MAC) suitable for dense UAV networks. The protocol exploits the properties of vortex waves and realizes multidimensional resource utilization by adding mode dimensions to the traditional time-slotted ALOHA. The MT-MAC protocol divides the UAV network into a two-level topology. Inter-cluster networks utilize OAM waves to transmit independently, and the intra-cluster network adopts the time-slotted ALOHA scheme. The proposed protocol effectively solves the problems of limited communication throughput and difficult network access. Analysis and simulation results are presented to demonstrate that the throughput can be greatly improved by appropriately utilizing mode dimension compared to the single time-domain network.