Open Access

ARTICLE

Enhancing Disaster Response with IoFT: An Adaptive Communication Model for UAV-Based Surveillance

A. F. M. Suaib Akhter^*

Computer Engineering Department, Sakarya University of Applied Sciences, Sakarya, Türkiye

* Corresponding Author: A. F. M. Suaib Akhter. Email:

Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences 2026, 146(2), 31 https://doi.org/10.32604/cmes.2026.077574

Received 12 December 2025; Accepted 22 January 2026; Issue published 26 February 2026

Abstract

The modern world remains vulnerable to natural disasters, including floods, earthquakes, wildfires, and others. These events remain unpredictable and inevitable, and recovering quickly and effectively requires significant effort and expense. Monitoring is becoming more efficient thanks to technologies such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), which can access hard-to-reach areas and provide real-time data. However, in disaster-affected areas, these monitoring systems may encounter many obstacles when communicating with servers or transmitting monitored data. This paper proposes an adaptive communication model to overcome the challenges faced in disaster-affected areas. A base station is responsible for collecting data (such as images and videos) captured by UAVs performing surveillance within its communication range. This station is typically a tower providing fixed cellular network service. However, in the absence of such a tower, a selected UAV may serve as the station, depending on the situation. If surveillance needs to be performed outside the coverage area, it can continue to communicate via nearby UAVs through cooperative communication. UAVs with internet support, known as the Internet of Flying Things (IoFT), will also be utilized to enhance communication capacity and efficiency. The proposed communication model is validated through experiments, showing superior data transmission performance and higher throughput. Analysis indicates it outperforms traditional systems, even in rural areas, with or without internet access.

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Keywords

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