Toward Seamless Localization and Communication: A Satellite-UAV NTN Architecture

In recent years, the Internet of Things (IoT) has caught substantial attention as a pivotal technology to support connectivity for massive devices and sensors. With increasing demands for reliable connectivity and continuity of IoT, non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) are developed to provide ubiquitous coverage and broadband service for IoT devices. In this article, we present a UAV-Satellite architecture to perform the localization and communication in an integrated way. This innovative, cost-effective, and flexible network architecture opens up the way for seamless positioning and communication. Specifically, we first elaborate on the settings and process of the UAV-Satellite architecture. The UAVs are deployed as aerial agents and relays, while the satellites provide the location basis and communication backhaul. To fully reveal the potential ability of the proposed structure, we focus on the key technologies contributing to the enhancement of localization and communication from different perspectives, including localization algorithms, beamforming, frame structure design, UAV deployment and trajectory planning, etc. Subsequently, the open challenges of the envisioned framework are encapsulated including synchronization, spectrum sharing, and inherent hardware limitations. In the end, we discuss some technical issues, which are worthy of further investigations under this architecture.