Effect of non-cooperative vehicles on path connectivity in vehicular networks: A theoretical analysis and UAV-based remedy

First, this work characterizes some of the fundamental traffic-theoretic properties of VANETs in the presence of non-cooperative vehicles. Then, it proposes to alleviate the detrimental effect of non-cooperation on end-to-end path connectivity by exploiting Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as store-carry-and-forward nodes in a VANET. Through both mathematical analysis and extensive simulations, the role that UAVs can play in enhancing end-to-end path connectivity is quantified in the context of a hybrid, UAV-assisted VANET architecture.