The Ad Hoc Networks is an international and archival journal providing a publication vehicle for complete coverage of all topics of interest to those involved in ad hoc and sensor networking areas. The Ad Hoc Networks considers original, high quality and unpublished contributions addressing all aspects of ad hoc and sensor networks. Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

    Mobile and Wireless Ad Hoc Networks
    Sensor Networks
    Wireless Local and Personal Area Networks
    Home Networks
    Ad Hoc Networks of Autonomous Intelligent Systems
    Novel Architectures for Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks
    Self-organizing Network Architectures and Protocols
    Transport Layer Protocols
    Routing protocols (unicast, multicast, geocast, etc.)
    Media Access Control Techniques
    Error Control Schemes
    Power-Aware, Low-Power and Energy-Efficient Designs
    Synchronization and Scheduling Issues
    Mobility Management
    Mobility-Tolerant Communication Protocols
    Location Tracking and Location-based Services
    Resource and Information Management
    Security and Fault-Tolerance Issues
    Hardware and Software Platforms, Systems, and Testbeds
    Experimental and Prototype Results
    Quality-of-Service Issues
    Cross-Layer Interactions
    Scalability Issues
    Performance Analysis and Simulation of Protocols

Special Issue on Trends and Challenges in Energy-Efficient UAV Networks
Submission Date: 2020-09-30

Recent developments in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, a.k.a. drones), sensor and communication technology, coupled with automation and deployment flexibility of UAVs have revolutionized various industries, including agriculture, mobile communications, entertainment and media. The commercial applications of drones providing business solutions is growing rapidly, with an estimated global market value of $127 bn according to a study by PwC. Despite the advantages provided by UAVs in various sectors, they face the challenge of limited operating duration due to the reliance on their on-board battery. This creates interruptions in their missions as battery replacement or recharging is required frequently. Therefore, developments of innovative, energy-efficient methods that will help UAVs to achieve more with their limited-capacity battery or even extend the mission duration, especially for the small-sized UAVs, are essential. Such innovations will enhance the deployment feasibility of UAVs or drone-delivered commercial services. The methods and mechanisms may focus on energy-efficient functioning of UAVs, consider ways of topping up the battery capacity, or even in-situ recharging.

This Special Issue aims to publish the latest contributions in the development of methods and mechanisms for energy-efficient UAV Networks. Researchers, developers, and industry practitioners working in this area are invited to present their views on the current trends, challenges, and state of the art solutions addressing various issues in energy-efficient UAV Networks. Due to the complex and dynamic environment that the UAVs operate in, the use of intelligent algorithms, e.g., machine learning/deep learning techniques in optimizing proposed solutions are of high relevance to the special issue. Review papers on the topic are also welcome. Some relevant topics include, but not limited to the following:

Energy-aware UAV network architecture
UAV path-planning and trajectory optimization for energy efficiency
Energy-efficient UAV communication and networking
Energy-efficient UAV communication optimization in 5/6G
Wireless Backscattering for energy-efficient UAV communication
Intelligent power management for UAV communication
Autonomous recharging of UAV batteries
Machine learning for energy-efficient UAV networks
Energy-efficient cellular-assisted UAV communication
Energy-efficient UAV-assisted cellular communication
Energy-efficient UAV-IoT Systems
Energy-friendly UAV-IoT infrastructures in Smart Cities
Energy efficient solutions for swarm of UAVs