Next-Generation Information Systems Architectures

A document describes a paradigm in which low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with wireless communication capability are used to assist networking among a set of ground stations. This new paradigm is attractive because UAVs can be dynamically deployed in a wide variety of geographical territories. Furthermore, UAVs often have high-quality line-of-sight communication links with other UAVs, and ground stations as aerial links usually suffer relatively little shadowing compared with their terrestrial counterparts.