The upcoming 5G ecosystem is envisioned to build business-driven network slices to accommodate the different needs of divergent service types, applications, and services in support of vertical industries. In this article, we describe the network slicing concept by unveiling a novel network slicing architecture for integrated 5G communications. Further, we demonstrate its realization for the case of evolved LTE using state-of-the-art technologies. Finally, we elaborate on the LTE-specific requirements toward 5G, and point out existing challenges and open issues.

In this paper, we provide a revolutionary vision of 5G networks, in which SDN technologies are used for the programmability of the wireless network, and where a NFV-ready network store is provided to Mobile Network Operators (MNO), Enterprises, and Over-The-Top (OTT) third parties. The proposed network serves as a digital distribution platform of programmable Virtualized Network Functions (VNFs) that enables 5G application use-cases. Currently existing application stores, such as Apple's App Store for iOS applications, Google's Play Store for Android, or Ubuntu's Software Center, deliver applications to user specific software platforms. Our vision is to provide a digital marketplace, gathering 5G enabling Network Applications and Network Functions, written to run on top of commodity cloud infrastructures, connected to remote radio heads (RRH). The 5G Network Store will be the same to the network provider as the application store is currently to a software platform.

The application of pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural areas is of prime importance for crop yields. The use of aircrafts is becoming increasingly common in carrying out this task mainly because of its speed and effectiveness in the spraying operation. However, some factors may reduce the yield, or even cause damage (e.g. crop areas not covered in the spraying process, overlapping spraying of crop areas, applying pesticides on the outer edge of the crop). Climatic conditions, such as the intensity and direction of the wind while spraying add further complexity to the control problem. In this paper, we describe an architecture based on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which can be employed to implement a control loop for agricultural applications where UAVs are responsible for spraying chemicals on crops. The process of applying the chemicals is controlled by means of the feedback obtained from the wireless sensor network (WSN) deployed on the crop field. The aim of this solution is to support short delays in the control loop so that the spraying UAV can process the information from the sensors. We evaluate an algorithm to adjust the UAV route under changes in wind intensity and direction. Moreover, we evaluate the impact of the number of communication messages between the UAV and the WSN. Results show that the adjustment of the route based on the feedback information from the sensors could minimize the waste of pesticides.

We developed UAVNet, a framework for the autonomous deployment of a flying Wireless Mesh Network using small quadrocopter-based Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The flying wireless mesh nodes are automatically interconnected to each other and building an IEEE 802.11s wireless mesh network. The implemented UAVNet prototype is able to autonomously interconnect two end systems by setting up an airborne relay, consisting of one or several flying wireless mesh nodes. The developed software includes basic functionality to control the UAVs and to setup, deploy, manage, and monitor a wireless mesh network. Our evaluations have shown that UAVNet can significantly improve network performance.