Networked Communication, Command, and Control of an Unmanned Aircraft System
Eric W. Frew, Cory Dixon, Jack S. Elston, Brian Argrow, Timothy X. Brown · Journal of Aerospace Computing Information and Communication · 2008
Fullyautonomous,cooperative,multivehicleoperationrequiresthedevelopmentandintegration of various levels of intra- and intervehicle communication, sensing, control, and autonomy. This paper describes the Networked unmanned aircraft system Communication, Command, and Control (NetUASC3) architecture that combines meshed network intelligence, mission-level tasking information, and automatic flight control into an integrated unmanned aircraft system. The NetUASC3 architecture described includes: the University of Colorado at Boulder Ares unmanned aircraft, the onboard flight management architecture, and monitoring and command and control software that exploits the existing ad hoc Unmanned Aircraft System Ground network mesh network. Results from flight demonstration of the NetUASC3 architecture are provided to highlight the interplay between the various subsystems. Specific results demonstrate sensor-reactive and communicationreactive control, meshed network performance, atmospheric data collection, validation of radio-propagationmodels,anddeliveryofstreamingvideooveramultihopairborne‐ground network.