# Disconnectivity-Aware Energy-Efficient Cargo-UAV Trajectory Planning with Minimum Handoffs

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2106.14276 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.14276/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 27 Jun 2021.

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [Multi-UAV Speed Control with Collision Avoidance and Handover-aware Cell Association: DRL with Action Branching](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.13158/) (2023)
- [RL-Based Cargo-UAV Trajectory Planning and Cell Association for Minimum Handoffs, Disconnectivity, and Energy Consumption](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.02478/) (2023)
- [Data-Efficient Energy-Aware Participant Selection for UAV-Enabled Federated Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.07273/) (2023)
- [Hierarchical LLM-Driven Control for HAPS-Assisted UAV Networks: Joint Optimization of Flight and Connectivity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.11509/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

On-board battery consumption, cellular disconnectivity, and frequent handoff are key challenges for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based delivery missions, a.k.a., cargo-UAV. Indeed, with the introduction of UAV technology into cargo shipping and logistics, designing energy-efficient paths becomes a serious issue for the next retail industry transformation. Typically, the latter has to guarantee uninterrupted or slightly interrupted cellular connectivity for the UAV's command and control through a small number of handoffs. In this paper, we formulate the trajectory planning as a multi-objective problem aiming to minimize both the UAV's energy consumption and the handoff rate, constrained by the UAV battery size and disconnectivity rate. Due to the problem's complexity, we propose a dynamic programming based solution. Through simulations, we demonstrate the efficiency of our approach in providing optimized UAV trajectories. Also, the impact of several parameters, such as the cargo-UAV altitude, disconnectivity rate, and type of environment, are investigated. The obtained results allow to draw recommendations and guidelines for cargo-UAV operations.