Deep learning-based channel estimation for RIS-assisted UAV-enabled wireless communications system

Abstract

Wireless communication via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has drawn a great deal of attention due to its flexibility in establishing line-of-sight (LoS) communications. However, in complex urban and dynamic environments, the movement of UAVs can be blocked by trees and high-rise buildings that obstruct directional paths. This problem can be effectively addressed by employing reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS). To achieve this goal, accurate channel estimation in RIS-assisted UAV-enabled wireless communications is crucial. This paper proposes an accurate channel estimation model using long short-term memory (LSTM) for a multi-user RIS-assisted UAV-enabled wireless communications system. Simulation results showed that LSTM can effectively improve the channel estimation performance of RIS-assisted UAV-enabled wireless communications.