Power optimisation in UAV-assisted wireless powered cooperative mobile edge computing systems

Wireless power transfer (WPT) and mobile edge computing (MEC) are two prospective technologies to enhance the computing power and endurance of mobile devices. Integrating unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) into wireless powered MEC system, the energy collection efficiency can be effectively improved with the short-distance line-of-sight path power transfer. However, WPT is susceptible to the 'double near-far' effect. Therefore, in this study, the authors study power optimisation in UAV-assisted wireless powered cooperative MEC system, which utilises the user cooperation to make the mobile device which is closer to the UAV acting as a relay for offloading. They aim to minimise the total transmission energy of the UAV through the joint power optimisation while satisfying the delay and size of the computational task. Simulation results demonstrate the performance of the proposed scheme.