The utilization of low-power wide area network (LPWAN) technologies holds significant promise for numerous critical Internet of Things (IoT) applications that are characterized by low data rates and stringent power consumption requirements. However, LPWAN technologies face limitations, particularly in extending coverage in obstructed environments. Driven by the various abilities of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) and the advanced features of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the integration of RIS into UAVs, which results in aerial RIS (ARIS), presents an attractive solution for enhancing LPWAN-based IoT connectivity. This letter introduces a novel solution to enhance the efficacy of LPWAN-based IoT by incorporating ARIS. A full cross-layer analysis is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the solution. Furthermore, the impact of the UAV’s location and the number of reflective elements of the ARIS are examined in practical scenarios. The results illustrate that utilizing an ARIS significantly enhances the performance of the LPWAN-based system and results in a reliable long-range transmission operation.

中文翻译：

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用于物联网的空中可重构智能表面辅助 LPWAN：跨层分析


低功耗广域网 （LPWAN） 技术的利用为许多关键物联网 （IoT） 应用带来了巨大的前景，这些应用的特点是数据速率低和功耗要求严格。然而，LPWAN 技术面临局限性，尤其是在扩大受阻环境中的覆盖范围方面。在可重构智能表面 （RIS） 的各种功能和无人机 （UAV） 的先进功能的推动下，将 RIS 集成到无人机中，从而产生空中 RIS （ARIS），为增强基于 LPWAN 的物联网连接提供了一种有吸引力的解决方案。这封信介绍了一种新颖的解决方案，通过整合 ARIS 来提高基于 LPWAN 的 IoT 的有效性。提供了完整的跨层分析来说明该解决方案的有效性。此外，在实际场景中研究了无人机位置的影响和 ARIS 的反射元件数量。结果表明，使用 ARIS 可显著提高基于 LPWAN 的系统的性能，并实现可靠的远距离传输操作。