Multi-Objective Optimization for EE-SE Tradeoff in Space-Air-Ground Internet of Things Networks

The Internet of Things (IoT) has become increasingly popular, and its communication requirements have grown beyond what traditional ground networks can handle. The space–air–ground (SAG) integrated network has been proposed as a potential solution, where unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) collect data from IoT devices and transmit them to satellites. However, the limited energy of UAVs is one of the key factors restricting communication performance, so it is necessary to consider communication energy efficiency (EE). In addition, the improvement of EE will bring about the decline of spectral efficiency (SE). Therefore we consider the tradeoff between EE and SE. Considering a SAG-IoT network, the focus of the paper is to optimize sub-channel selection, power control, and UAV position deployment to maximize EE and SE of the network, which is a multi-objective optimization (MOO) problem. On this premise, we try to improve the data throughput between IoT devices and UAVs. To solve this MOO problem, we use the (Formula presented.) -constraint to convert it into a single-objective optimization problem. We then employ various optimization algorithms such as the Dinkelbach algorithm, successive convex approximation algorithm, Lagrange dual algorithm, and block coordinate descent algorithm to solve the mixed integer non-convex problem. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm converges to at least one sub-optimal solution.