sense-and-send protocol

the UAVs perform the sensing tasks in a synchronized iterative manner. Specifically, the process is divided into cycles. The cycle consists of three separated phases, i.e., the beaconing phase, sensing phase, and the transmission phase

执行每一个任务分为三个阶段

sensing phase

UAV 悬停在 task 点上方的一个位置 (sensing location) 进行信息采集 (这个位置不一定是 task 所在的位置) ，过程如下：

phase 1
UAV 使用 control channel向 BS 汇报一些基本信息
The UAV first sends UAV beacon to the BS over control channel, which
contains the information of its location, the ongoing sensing task, the location of the next sensing task, and transmission request.

phase 2
BS 使用 control channel告诉 UAV 频段分配信息，和下一个 task 的 sensing location
The BS then informs the UAV of the subchannel allocation result and sensing location of its next task.

phase 3
进行信息采集，如果分到了频段，则同时开始transmission
Afterwards, the UAV performs data collection until the end of the time slot.

如果本阶段结束时，信息已经全都传给了BS，进入empty phase，否则进入transmission phase

transmission phase

前往下一个无人机的sensing location，同时向BS发送采集到的信息。
这个阶段每一个time slot的过程如下：

phase 1
无人机向 BS 汇报基本信息
In the transmission time slot, the UAV first sends UAV beacon to the BS over control channel, which contains the information of transmission request, UAV location, data length to transmit, and the location of the next sensing location.

phase 2
BS 告诉 UAV 这个time slot的路径和频段分配
The BS then informs the UAV of its trajectory and UAV scheduling solutions in this time slot.

phase 3
UAV按照指示的路径飞行，同时，如果分到了 subchannel，那么就进行 transmission，没分到就只能等着
Afterwards, each UAV moves along the optimized trajectory. the UAV performs data transmission if it is allocated to a subchannel. Otherwise, the UAV cannot transmit data in the current time slot.
如果信息已经传完，但是还没到下一个任务的sensing location，就进入 empty phase

empty phase

只在空中飞行而不收发信息，直到到达下一个 task 的 sensing location。

这个阶段每一个time slot的过程如下：

phase 1
UAV 给 BS 发送基本信息
In empty time slot, the UAV sends UAV beacon that contains its current location and its next sensing location to the BS over control channel.
phase 2
BS 告诉 UAV 下一步往哪走，在 empty time slot UAV 不收发信息
The BS responses the corresponding trajectory to the UAV. The UAV then moves along the optimized trajectory with neither sensing nor transmission in such a time slot.
The UAV will switch to sensing time slot when it arrives at the sensing location of the next task.

摘自 Reinforcement Learning for Decentralized Trajectory Design in Cellular UAV Networks With Sense-and-Send Protocol
Cellular Cooperative Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Networks With Sense-and-Send Protocol