Covert Communication Of UAV Aided By Time Modulated Array Perception

MIAO Chen; QIN Yuxuan; MA Ruiqian; LIN Zhi; MA Yue; ZHANG Wentao; WU Wen

doi:10.11999/JEIT240606

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MIAO Chen, QIN Yuxuan, MA Ruiqian, LIN Zhi, MA Yue, ZHANG Wentao, WU Wen. Covert Communication Of UAV Aided By Time Modulated Array Perception[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology. doi: 10.11999/JEIT240606

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MIAO Chen, QIN Yuxuan, MA Ruiqian, LIN Zhi, MA Yue, ZHANG Wentao, WU Wen. Covert Communication Of UAV Aided By Time Modulated Array Perception[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology. doi: 10.11999/JEIT240606

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Covert Communication Of UAV Aided By Time Modulated Array Perception

doi: 10.11999/JEIT240606

1.
Key Laboratory of Near-Range RF Sensing ICs & Microsystems, Ministry of Education, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
2.
College of Electronic Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Hefei 230037, China
3.
State Key Laboratory of Millimetre Waves, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China

Funds: The National Natural Science Foundation of China (62301254, 62171464), The Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20230916), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2023M731700), The Research and Innovation Fund of National University of Defense Technology (22-ZZCX-07), Comprehensive National Science Center of Hefei

Received Date: 2024-07-16
Rev Recd Date: 2025-01-19

Available Online: 2025-01-25

Abstract

Abstract

Objective With the widespread application of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) communication technology in military and civilian domains, ensuring secure information transmission within UAV networks has received increasing attention. Covert communication is an effective approach to conceal information transmission. However, existing methods, such as digital beamforming, improve covert communication performance but increase system size and power consumption. This study proposes a UAV short-packet covert communication method based on Time Modulated Planar Array (TMPA) sensing. A TMPA-UAV covert communication system architecture is introduced, along with a two-dimensional Direction of Arrival (DOA) estimation method. A covert communication model is established, and a closed-form expression for the covert constraint is derived using Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence. Based on the estimated angle of Willie, the TMPA switching sequence is optimized to maximize signal gain in the target direction while minimizing gain in non-target directions. Covert throughput is selected as the optimization objective, and a one-dimensional search method determines the optimal data packet length and transmission power. Results and Discussions Simulations show that the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) for DOA estimation in both directions approaches 0°, with RMSE decreasing significantly as the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) increases (Fig. 4). With a fixed elevation angle and azimuth angles varying between 0° and 60°, a comparison between the proposed method and the traditional DOA estimation method for time-modulated arrays indicates that the proposed method reduces DOA estimation error to the order of 0.1°, significantly improving accuracy. Beamforming simulations based on the estimation results (Fig. 6) show a SideLobe Level (SLL) below –30 dB and a beamwidth of 5°, meeting design requirements. Covert communication simulations reveal the existence of an optimal data packet length that maximizes covert throughput (Fig. 7). A stricter covert tolerance imposes tighter constraints on covert communication (Fig. 8), requiring Alice to use lower transmission power and shorter block lengths to communicate covertly with Bob. When the beamforming error angle is small, the system maintains high covert throughput (Fig. 9). Within a UAV flight height range of 50 m to 90 m, covert throughput remains low; however, when the height exceeds 90 m, throughput increases rapidly. Beyond 130 m, UAV height has little effect on maximum covert throughput, and performance reaches its optimal state. Therefore, controlling UAV flight height appropriately is crucial for effective communication between legitimate links. Conclusions This study proposes a TMPA-based multi-antenna UAV sensing-assisted covert communication system for short packets. A TMPA-based DOA estimation method is introduced to determine the relative position of non-cooperative nodes. The Compressed Sensing (CS) algorithm optimizes the beam radiation pattern, maximizing gain at the legitimate destination node while creating nulls at the non-cooperative node's location. A closed-form expression for covert constraints is derived using KL divergence, and covert throughput is maximized through the joint optimization of packet length and transmission power. Simulations analyze the relationships between the number of array elements, covert tolerance, beam direction error angles, UAV height, and covert throughput. Results indicate that an optimal packet length maximizes covert throughput. Additionally, increasing the number of array elements and relaxing covert constraints can improve covert throughput. Practical system design should comprehensively optimize these factors.
- Time modulated array,
- Covert communication,
- UAV,
- DOA estimation,
- Beamforming

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References(25)

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