UAV-Assisted Vehicular Edge Computing for the 6G Internet of Vehicles: Architecture, Intelligence, and Challenges

With the growing intelligence needed on the Internet of Vehicles (IoV), seamless edge computing services for the sixth generation (6G) vehicle-to-everything (V2X) applications require three-dimensional (3D) and ubiquitous networking coverage to realize the intensive computing tasks and data offloading. In the high mobility and fast-changing vehicular environment, the 6G V2X networks supporting vehicular edge computing (VEC) need to be more flexible, smart, and adaptive. In this article, an intelligent unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-assisted VEC system is envisioned to satisfy 6G V2X requirements and provide 3D and adaptive service coverage. We indicate that in 6G IoV networks, given the fast-changing and large-scale networks, effectively coordinating and managing massive UAVs incur several problems, which are complex to solve by conventional optimization tools. In this regard, leveraging the big data feature of historical information, artificial-intelligence-based solutions are anticipated to facilitate fast, automatic, and efficient UAV deployment to support 6G V2X applications. An illustrative case study is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed intelligent UAV-assisted VEC architecture. We also outline future research directions to realize the vision of UAV-assisted VEC for 6G IoV networks.