6G Non-Terrestrial Networks Enabled Low-Altitude Economy: Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract: The unprecedented development of non-terrestrial networks (NTN) utilizes the low-altitude airspace for commercial and social flying activities. The integration of NTN and terrestrial networks leads to the emergence of low-altitude economy (LAE). A series of LAE application scenarios are enabled by the sensing, communication, and transportation functionalities of the aircrafts. The prerequisite technologies supporting LAE are introduced in this paper, including the network coverage and aircrafts detection. The LAE functionalities assisted by aircrafts with respect to sensing and communication are then summarized, including the terrestrial and non-terrestrial targets sensing, ubiquitous coverage, relaying, and traffic offloading. Finally, several future directions are identified, including aircrafts collaboration, energy efficiency, and artificial intelligence enabled LAE.