Deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles for maximum coverage in emergency scenarios using the (1+1) evolution strategy with one-fifth success rule

Mobile communications play a critical role in the flow of information during an emergency scenario. The victims and first responders should have a reliable network to ask for help; or coordinate search and rescue operations. In these scenarios, the communication services could be interrupted due to the damage caused to the communications infrastructure. Currently, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are proposed as a solution to provide wireless connectivity. UAVs have features to be used as Aerial Base Stations (ABSs) due to they can be rapidly deployed over the affected area and provide temporary connectivity between emergency operators and victims. However, the deployment of UAVs is a difficult task, as it is considered an NP-Hard type problem. In particular, the UAVs locations have a high impact on the coverage network. Therefore, efficient deployment of UAVs can maximize communications coverage. This paper uses an optimization model based on the (1+1) evolution strategy with a one-fifth success rule to locate UAVs and maximize their coverage. The results indicate that when there are constrained resources, the (1+1) evolution strategy with a one-fifth success rule can cover 25.1% of mobile users and offers a voice service.