{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,25]],"date-time":"2026-01-25T06:56:18Z","timestamp":1769324178355,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,8,26]],"date-time":"2019-08-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1566777600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The Fifth Generation of Mobile Communications (5G) will lead to the growth of use cases demanding higher capacity and a enhanced data rate, a lower latency, and a more flexible and scalable network able to offer better user Quality of Experience (QoE). The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of these use cases. It has been spreading in the recent past few years, and it covers a wider range of possible application scenarios, such as smart city, smart factory, and smart agriculture, among many others. However, the limitations of the terrestrial network hinder the deployment of IoT devices and services. Besides, the existence of a plethora of different solutions (short vs. long range, commercialized vs. standardized, etc.), each of them based on different communication protocols and, in some cases, on different access infrastructures, makes the integration among them and with the upcoming 5G infrastructure more difficult. This paper discusses the huge set of IoT solutions available or still under standardization that will need to be integrated in the 5G framework. UAVs and satellites will be proposed as possible solutions to ease this integration, overcoming the limitations of the terrestrial infrastructure, such as the limited covered areas and the densification of the number of IoT devices per square kilometer.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s19173704","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,8,26]],"date-time":"2019-08-26T10:54:53Z","timestamp":1566816893000},"page":"3704","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":116,"title":["IoT and UAV Integration in 5G Hybrid Terrestrial-Satellite Networks"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Mario","family":"Marchese","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"SCNL Laboratory, Department of Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications Engineering and Naval Architecture (DITEN), University of Genoa, 16126 Genoa, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1346-6868","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aya","family":"Moheddine","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SCNL Laboratory, Department of Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications Engineering and Naval Architecture (DITEN), University of Genoa, 16126 Genoa, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0983-9131","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fabio","family":"Patrone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SCNL Laboratory, Department of Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications Engineering and Naval Architecture (DITEN), University of Genoa, 16126 Genoa, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,8,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Amazon (2019, July 29). Amazon Prime Air. Available online: https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/b?node=8037720011."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"NIELD, D. (2019, July 29). Boeing\u2019s Latest Patent Reveals a Drone That Can Transform Into a Submarine. Available online: https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/boeing-s-latest-patent-reveals-a-drone-that-can-transform-into-a-submarine."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Amazon (2019, July 29). Amazon Planning 3,236-Satellite Constellation for Internet Connectivity. Available online: https:\/\/www.space.com\/amazon-plans-3236-satellite-constellation-for-internet.html."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"SpaceX (2019, July 29). SpaceX\u2019s Starlink Constellation Construction Begins. 2200 Satellites Will Go up over the Next 5 Years. Available online: https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/141980\/spacexs-starlink-constellation-construction-begins-2200-satellites-will-go-up-over-the-next-5-years\/."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"18391","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2017.2735988","article-title":"LEO Satellite Constellation for Internet of Things","volume":"5","author":"Qu","year":"2017","journal-title":"IEEE Access"},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"Ticlo, I. (2019, July 29). Is Tech the New Currency? Why You Need Modern IT. Available online: https:\/\/www.insight.com\/en_US\/learn\/content\/2017\/05252017-is-tech-the-new-currency-why-you-need-modern-it.html."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"77454","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2018.2883151","article-title":"Low power wide area networks: a survey of enabling technologies, applications and interoperability needs","volume":"6","author":"Qadir","year":"2018","journal-title":"IEEE Access"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"855","DOI":"10.1109\/COMST.2017.2652320","article-title":"Low power wide area networks: An overview","volume":"19","author":"Raza","year":"2017","journal-title":"IEEE Commun. Surv. Tutor."},{"key":"ref_9","unstructured":"(2019, July 29). Project Noun. Available online: https:\/\/thenounproject.com\/."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yassein, M.B., Shatnawi, M.Q., and Al-zoubi, D. (2016, January 22\u201324). Application layer protocols for the Internet of Things: A survey. Proceedings of the 2016 International Conference on Engineering MIS (ICEMIS), Agadir, Morocco.","DOI":"10.1109\/ICEMIS.2016.7745303"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2347","DOI":"10.1109\/COMST.2015.2444095","article-title":"Internet of Things: A Survey on Enabling Technologies, Protocols and Applications","volume":"17","author":"Guizani","year":"2015","journal-title":"IEEE Commun. Surv. Tutor."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16060","DOI":"10.3390\/s150716060","article-title":"CoAP-based mobility management for the Internet of Things","volume":"15","author":"Chun","year":"2015","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Group, O.M. (2019, July 29). Data Distribution Services Specification, V1.2. Available online: http:\/\/www.omg.org\/spec\/DDS\/1.2\/."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1125","DOI":"10.1109\/JIOT.2017.2683200","article-title":"A Survey on Internet of Things: Architecture, Enabling Technologies, Security and Privacy, and Applications","volume":"4","author":"Lin","year":"2017","journal-title":"IEEE Internet Things J."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"90","DOI":"10.1109\/MCOM.2018.1800161","article-title":"Ultra-Reliable IoT Communications with UAVs: A Swarm Use Case","volume":"56","author":"Yuan","year":"2018","journal-title":"IEEE Commun. Mag."},{"key":"ref_16","unstructured":"IAFC (2019, July 29). IAFC Position: Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Public Safety Emergency Response. Available online: https:\/\/www.iafc.org\/topics-and-tools\/resources\/resource\/iafc-position-use-of-unmanned-aerial-vehicles-in-public-safety-emergency-response."},{"key":"ref_17","unstructured":"Haddal, C.C., and Gertler, J. (2010). Homeland Security: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Border Surveillance, Congressional Research Service 2010, Library of Congress."},{"key":"ref_18","unstructured":"Debra, C.R. (2019, July 29). Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Guidebook in Development, Available online: https:\/\/cops.usdoj.gov\/html\/dispatch\/08-2014\/uas_guidebook_in_development.asp."},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"Kimchi, G., Buchmueller, D., Green, S.A., Beckman, B.C., Isaacs, S., Navot, A., Hensel, F., Bar-Zeev, A., and Rault, S.S.J.M. (2017). Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Delivery System. (9,573,684), U.S. Patent."},{"key":"ref_20","unstructured":"Lee, D. (2019, July 29). Google Plans Drone Delivery Service for 2017. Available online: https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/technology-34704868."},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"(2019, July 29). 38 Ways Drones Will Impact Society: From Fighting War To Forecasting Weather, UAVs Change Everything. Available online: https:\/\/www.cbinsights.com\/research\/drone-impact-society-uav\/."},{"key":"ref_22","unstructured":"Engelking, C. (2019, July 29). DARPA\u2019s Plan to Overwhelm Enemies with Swarming Drones. Available online: http:\/\/blogs.discovermagazine.com\/drone360\/2015\/04\/06\/darpas-swarming-drones\/#.XNAy7jAzaUk."},{"key":"ref_23","unstructured":"Furness, D. (2019, July 29). The Sound of 103 Micro Drones Launched from an F\/A-18 Will Give You Nightmares. Available online: https:\/\/www.digitaltrends.com\/cool-tech\/perdix-drone-swarm\/."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"899","DOI":"10.1109\/JIOT.2016.2612119","article-title":"Low-Altitude Unmanned Aerial Vehicles-Based Internet of Things Services: Comprehensive Survey and Future Perspectives","volume":"3","author":"Motlagh","year":"2016","journal-title":"IEEE Internet Things J."},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"Klaptocz, A., and Adventures, D. (2019, July 29). Drone Adventures in Haiti. Available online: https:\/\/robohub.org\/drone-adventure-in-haiti\/."},{"key":"ref_26","unstructured":"Andrade, O. (2019, July 29). Flying Aid Drones Tested in Haiti and Dominican Republic. Available online: https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2013\/jan\/09\/flying-aid-drones-haiti-dominican-republic."},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"Meier, P. (2019, July 29). Humanitarian UAV Missions in Nepal: Early Observations (Updated). Available online: https:\/\/irevolutions.org\/2015\/05\/03\/humanitarian-uav-missions-nepal\/."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"40","DOI":"10.1109\/MNET.2013.6574664","article-title":"Disaster-resilient networking: A new vision based on movable and deployable resource units","volume":"27","author":"Sakano","year":"2013","journal-title":"IEEE Netw."},{"key":"ref_29","unstructured":"Stone, J. (2019, July 29). Flying Drones Peers Into Japan\u2019s Damaged Reactors. Available online: https:\/\/www.2oceansvibe.com\/2011\/04\/11\/flying-drone-peers-into-japans-damaged-reactors\/."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"128","DOI":"10.1109\/MCOM.2017.1600587CM","article-title":"UAV-Based IoT Platform: A Crowd Surveillance Use Case","volume":"55","author":"Motlagh","year":"2017","journal-title":"IEEE Commun. Mag."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"140","DOI":"10.1016\/j.icte.2016.08.005","article-title":"Flying path optimization in UAV-assisted IoT sensor networks","volume":"2","author":"Yoo","year":"2016","journal-title":"ICT Express"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Katayama, K., Takahashi, H., Yokoyama, S., G\u00e4fvert, K., and Kinoshita, T. (2017, January 24\u201327). Evacuation guidance support using cooperative agent-based IoT devices. Proceedings of the 2017 IEEE 6th Global Conference on Consumer Electronics (GCCE), Nagoya, Japan.","DOI":"10.1109\/GCCE.2017.8229431"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Peng, Z., Kato, T., Takahashi, H., and Kinoshita, T. (2015, January 27\u201330). Intelligent home security system using agent-based IoT devices. Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE 4th Global Conference on Consumer Electronics (GCCE), Osaka, Japan.","DOI":"10.1109\/GCCE.2015.7398644"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Uddin, M.A., Mansour, A., Le Jeune, D., and Aggoune, E.H.M. (2017, January 22\u201324). Agriculture internet of things: AG-IoT. Proceedings of the 2017 27th International Telecommunication Networks and Applications Conference (ITNAC), Melbourne, Australia.","DOI":"10.1109\/ATNAC.2017.8215399"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113","DOI":"10.1109\/JIOT.2015.2487046","article-title":"Satellite Communications Supporting Internet of Remote Things","volume":"3","author":"Cianca","year":"2016","journal-title":"IEEE Internet Things J."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3645","DOI":"10.1109\/JSEN.2013.2262676","article-title":"Effective Data Collection Via Satellite-Routed Sensor System (SRSS) to Realize Global-Scaled Internet of Things","volume":"13","author":"Kawamoto","year":"2013","journal-title":"IEEE Sens. J."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2568","DOI":"10.1587\/transinf.2013THP0009","article-title":"Internet of things (IoT): Present state and future prospects","volume":"97","author":"Kawamoto","year":"2014","journal-title":"IEICE Trans. Inf. Syst."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"31","DOI":"10.1109\/MWC.2019.1800297","article-title":"IoT Applications and Services in Space Information Networks","volume":"26","author":"Bacco","year":"2019","journal-title":"IEEE Wirel. Commun."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Siris, V.A., Thomas, Y., and Polyzos, G.C. (2016, January 21\u201323). Supporting the IoT over integrated satellite-terrestrial networks using information-centric networking. Proceedings of the 2016 8th IFIP International Conference on New Technologies, Mobility and Security (NTMS), Larnaca, Cyprus.","DOI":"10.1109\/NTMS.2016.7792479"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"881","DOI":"10.1007\/s11036-017-0955-1","article-title":"A review of wireless and satellite-based m2m\/iot services in support of smart grids","volume":"23","author":"Sohraby","year":"2018","journal-title":"Mob. Networks Appl."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1042","DOI":"10.1109\/JSAC.2018.2832799","article-title":"Modeling reliable M2M\/IoT traffic over random access satellite links in non-saturated conditions","volume":"36","author":"Bacco","year":"2018","journal-title":"IEEE J. Sel. Areas Commun."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Soua, R., Palattella, M.R., and Engel, T. (2018, January 23\u201325). IoT application protocols optimisation for future integrated M2M-satellite networks. Proceedings of the 2018 Global Information Infrastructure and Networking Symposium (GIIS), Thessaloniki, Greece.","DOI":"10.1109\/GIIS.2018.8635784"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chiti, F., Fantacci, R., and Pierucci, L. (2019). Energy Efficient Communications for Reliable IoT Multicast 5G\/Satellite Services. Future Internet, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/fi11080164"},{"key":"ref_44","unstructured":"(2019, August 25). IMT Vision\u2013Framework and Overall Objectives of the Future Development of IMT for 2020 and Beyond. Series, M, ITU-R. Available online: https:\/\/www.itu.int\/rec\/R-REC-M.2083."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3619","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2017.2779844","article-title":"A survey on 5G networks for the Internet of Things: Communication technologies and challenges","volume":"6","author":"Akpakwu","year":"2017","journal-title":"IEEE Access"},{"key":"ref_46","unstructured":"3GPP (2019, August 25). Study on New Radio (NR) to Support Non Terrestrial Networks. Available online: https:\/\/portal.3gpp.org\/desktopmodules\/Specifications\/SpecificationDetails.aspx?specificationId=3234."},{"key":"ref_47","unstructured":"3GPPP (2019, August 25). Solutions for NR to Support non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN). Available online: https:\/\/portal.3gpp.org\/desktopmodules\/Specifications\/SpecificationDetails.aspx?specificationId=3525."},{"key":"ref_48","unstructured":"3GPP (2019, August 25). Study on Using Satellite Access in 5G. Available online: https:\/\/portal.3gpp.org\/desktopmodules\/Specifications\/SpecificationDetails.aspx?specificationId=3372."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"91","DOI":"10.1002\/sat.1245","article-title":"Use cases and scenarios of 5G integrated satellite-terrestrial networks for enhanced mobile broadband: The SaT5G approach","volume":"37","author":"Liolis","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. J. Satell. Commun. Netw."},{"key":"ref_50","unstructured":"(2019, July 29). Satellite and Terrestrial Network for 5G. Available online: https:\/\/www.sat5g-project.eu\/."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"381","DOI":"10.1109\/TBC.2019.2901397","article-title":"QoE-assured live streaming via satellite Backhaul in 5G networks","volume":"65","author":"Ge","year":"2019","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Broadcast."},{"key":"ref_52","unstructured":"(2019, July 29). Demonstrator for Satellite-Terrestrial Integration in the 5G Context. Available online: https:\/\/satis5.eurescom.eu\/."},{"key":"ref_53","unstructured":"(2019, July 29). Drones in the 5G Era. Available online: https:\/\/5gdrones.eu\/."}],"container-title":["Sensors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/19\/17\/3704\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T13:14:07Z","timestamp":1760188447000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/19\/17\/3704"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2019,8,26]]},"references-count":53,"journal-issue":{"issue":"17","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,9]]}},"alternative-id":["s19173704"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/s19173704","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8220"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1424-8220","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2019,8,26]]}}}