Citation :

R. Mylsamy, M. Jaikumar, "A QoS-Constrained and Utility-Driven Routing Framework with Mobility-Predictive Stability for Flying AD-HOC Networks (QAR)," International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology (IJETT), vol. 74, no. 8, pp. 381-399, 2026. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/22315381/IJETT-V74I8P125

Abstract

Flying Ad-Hoc Networks (FANET) has become popular for many applications that require the exchange of reliable, real-time data, such as environmental monitoring or disaster assessment. Most of the missions that rely on FANETs require traffic to meet strict Quality of Service (QoS) requirements (e.g., low latency, high reliability, etc.) and will also have high mobility and often experience sudden changes in their topology. However, almost all routing algorithms currently used in FANETs were not purpose-built to handle these constraints; consequently, they exhibit reduced performance under both conditions. Variation in link quality and intermittent connectivity make maintaining consistent communication more difficult. The proposed QoS-Aware Routing (QAR) framework incorporates application-specific QoS requirements directly into the routing process, enabling route selection to better satisfy the communication demands of diverse FANET applications. The proposed scheme continuously monitors key QoS metrics, such as delay, packet loss, and throughput, and informs routing decisions based on evolving network conditions. QAR will enhance data delivery reliability within the network and increase overall network efficiency by matching real-time QoS measurements to route selection. The simulations show that the proposed algorithm provides better QoS and more predictable communication behaviour than traditional FANET routing protocols, indicating that it can be used in mission-based Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) applications.

Keywords

FANETs, UAV communication, QoS-aware routing, Dynamic topology, Real-time data transmission, Adaptive routing, Network performance.

References

[1] Aicha Idriss Hentati, and Lamia Chaari Fourati, “Comprehensive Survey of UAVs Communication Networks,” Computer Standards and Interfaces, vol. 72, pp. 1-33, 2020.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link] 

[2] İlker Bekmezci, Ozgur Koray Sahingoz, and Şamil Temel, “Flying Ad-Hoc Networks ( FANETs ): A Survey,” Ad Hoc Networks, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 1254-1270, 2013.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link] 

[3] Stefano Rosati et al., “Dynamic Routing for Flying Ad Hoc Networks,” IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, vol. 65, no. 3, pp. 1690-1700, 2016.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link] 

[4] C. Perkins, E. Belding-Royer, and S. Das, “Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) Routing,” Rfc, pp. 1-37, 2003.
[Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]  

[5] V.D. Park, and M.S. Corson, “A Highly Adaptive Distributed Routing Algorithm for Mobile Wireless Networks,” Proceedings of INFOCOM '97, Kobe, Japan, pp. 1405-1413, 1997.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]  

[6] Satyabrata Chakrabarti, and Amitabh Mishra, “QoS Issues in Ad Hoc Wireless Networks,” IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 142-148, 2001.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]  

[7] Hetal Jasani, “Quality of Service Evaluations of On Demand Mobile Ad-Hoc Routing Protocols,” 2011 Fifth International Conference on Next Generation Mobile Applications, Services and Technologies, Cardiff, UK, pp. 123-128, 2011.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]  

[8] Brad Karp, and H.T. Kung, “GPSR: Greedy Perimeter Stateless Routing for Wireless Networks,” Proceedings of the 6^th Annual International Conference on Mobile Computing and Networking, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, United States, pp. 243-254, 2000.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]  

[9] Muhammad Yeasir Arafat, and Sangman Moh, “Routing Protocols for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Networks: A Survey,” IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 99694-99720, 2019.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]  

[10] Muhammad Fahad Khan et al., “Routing Schemes in FANETs: A Survey,” Sensors, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 1-33, 2020.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]  

[11] A. Farithkhan et al., “Improving FANET Communication with a QoS Optimized Location-Aided Routing Protocol,” 2024 5^th International Conference on Smart Electronics and Communication (ICOSEC), Trichy, India, pp. 630-635, 2024.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]  

[12] Amartya Mukherjee et al., “Flying Ad-hoc Networks : A Comprehensive Survey,” Information and Decision Sciences Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, Springer, Singapore, vol. 701, pp. 569-580, 2016.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]  

[13] Yihai Zhang, and T.A. Gulliver, “Quality of Service for Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector Routing,” WiMob’2005), IEEE International Conference on Wireless And Mobile Computing, Networking and Communications, Montreal, QC, Canada, vol. 3, pp. 192-196, 2005.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link] 

[14] Philippe Jacquet et al., “Optimized Link State Routing Protocol for Ad hoc Networks,” Proceedings, IEEE International Multi Topic Conference, 2001, IEEE INMIC 2001. Technology for the 21^st Century, Lahore, Pakistan, pp. 62-68, 2001.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link] 

[15] Amir Masoud Rahmani  et al., “OLSR+: A New Routing Method based on Fuzzy Logic in Flying Ad-hoc Networks (FANETs),” Vehicular Communications, vol. 36, 2022.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link] 

[16] Evgeny V. Shcherba, George A. Litvinov, and Maria V. Shcherba, “Securing the Multipath Extension of the OLSR Routing Protocol,” 2019 Dynamics of Systems, Mechanisms and Machines (Dynamics), Omsk, Russia, pp. 1-4, 2019.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]

[17] Shigang Chen, and K. Nahrstedt, “Distributed Quality-of-Service Routing in Ad hoc Networks,” IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, vol. 17, no. 8, pp. 1488-1505, 1999.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link] 

[18] Omar Sami Oubbati et al., “A Survey on Position-based Routing Protocols for Flying Ad hoc Networks (FANETs),” Vehicular Communications, vol. 10, pp. 29-56, 2017.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]  

[19] Ali H. Wheeb et al., “Topology-based Routing Protocols and Mobility Models for Flying Ad Hoc Networks : A Contemporary Review and Future Research Directions,” Drones, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 1-28, 2022.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]

[20] Naveen Kumar Reddy, and Krovi Raja Sekhar, “Routing with Multi-Criteria QoS for Flying Ad-hoc Networks ( FANETs ),” International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications (IJACSA), vol. 13, no. 11, pp. 248-256, 2022.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]

[21] Yanan Zhang, and Hongbing Qiu, “Delay-Aware and Link-Quality-Aware Geographical Routing Protocol for UANET via Dueling Deep Q-Network,” Sensors, vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 1-21, 2023.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]

[22] Luis Antonio L.F. da Costa, Rafael Kunst, and Edison Pignaton de Freitas, “Q-FANET: Improved Q-Learning based Routing Protocol for FANETs,” Computer Networks, vol. 198, pp. 1-11, 2021.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]

[23] Chi Zhou, Dayou Qian, and Hyunjeong Lee, “Utility-based Routing in Wireless Ad hoc Networks,” 2004 IEEE International Conference on Mobile Ad-hoc and Sensor Systems (IEEE Cat. No.04EX975), Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA, pp. 588-593, 2004.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]