Blockchain-Envisioned UAV Communication Using 6G Networks: Open Issues, Use Cases, and Future Directions

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) can provide efficient and effective solutions for the development of smart cities. They have been widely used in civilian and military applications, such as data acquisition, data dissemination, audio and video surveillance, aerial photography, crop surveys, and real-time medical care. The network communication and security challenges in UAV networks are explored by research organizations across the globe, but still, many challenges remain unsolved like sensitive and end-user-related applications. Moreover, traditional UAV communication is not adequate to deal with the high mobility and dynamic features of UAV. So, there is a need for an efficient and secure network of UAV as they have been widely used in hostile environments. Motivated from the aforementioned facts, in this article, we present a broad survey on the architecture, requirements, and use cases of 6G technology. It also presents a solution taxonomy based on the applications of UAV communication. Based on the findings from the survey, we present a blockchain-envisioned security solution and 6G-enabled network connectivity in UAV communication. A summary of future research directions for the integration of blockchain and 6G technology in UAV communications is also presented. Then, we present a case study of a blockchain-envisioned UAV communication using 6G networks to secure Industry 4.0 applications.

Automated summary

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) play a crucial role in the development of smart cities, with research organizations exploring communication and security challenges in UAV networks and proposing solutions. Extensive surveys on 6G technology architecture and applications have been conducted, along with discussions on blockchain-based security solutions and future research directions.