Enhanced Predictive On-Demand Routing Protocol: The Path to UAV Networks

Flying ad hoc networks (FANETs) provide high flexibility and real-time wireless communication solutions for multiunmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems by utilizing UAVs as routers. However, conventional routing protocols are inadequate for FANETs due to high mobility and dynamic topology of UAV networks. To address these challenges, this paper proposes an enhanced on-demand predictive (EDP) routing protocol for UAV networks. The EDP protocol incorporates a neighbor-coverage-based predictive flooding mechanism and an adaptive link-quality-based route maintenance method. The flooding mechanism utilizes Kalman filter theory to predict mobility and the route maintenance method selects optimal route by evaluating multiple factors. Simulation results demonstrate that the EDP protocol significantly improves the packet delivery rate while reducing network delay and overhead under varying environments, outperforming benchmark routing protocols for FANETs.