International Journal of Computer Science and Technology

International Journal of Computer Science and Technology | Vol. 3, No. 11, November 2022 | pp. 1–8

DOI: 10.46882/2022/IJCST/000214

Article Type: Original Research Paper

Title: Lightweight Cross-Layer Congestion Management Protocol for UAV-Assisted Wireless Mesh Networks

Names of Authors: Carlos Silva¹, Fatima Al-Sayed²

Authors’ Affiliations: ¹Department of Mobile Communications, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; ²Wireless Systems Laboratory, Gulf University for Science, Kuwait City, Kuwait

Abstract: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) networks provide critical communication infrastructure during disaster recovery scenarios but frequently suffer from link instability and data congestion. Standard internet transport protocols fail to differentiate between physical channel packet dropouts and buffer congestion states. This research presents a cross-layer congestion routing protocol designed to optimize data transmission across aerial-to-ground communication networks. The protocol links link-layer queue lengths with transport-layer window configurations to estimate network density states accurately. A predictive tracking feature estimates spatial mobility patterns to update network paths before physical signal degradation occurs. We evaluated the communication protocol within a simulated 3D landscape utilizing 15 moving aerial nodes. The tracking results show a 31.5% enhancement in overall data delivery reliability over traditional routing protocols. The average end-to-end packet delivery delay was reduced to 64 ms, stabilizing critical voice and telemetry feeds. This cross-layer coordination prevents throughput degradation caused by rapid node movement in complex aerial environments.

Keywords: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Wireless Mesh Networks, Congestion Control, Cross-Layer Optimization, Routing Protocols, Throughput

Manuscript Timeline: Received: May 25, 2022; Revised: July 02, 2022; Accepted: July 26, 2022; Published: November 12, 2022

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