Resilience Model for Teams of Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Executing Surveillance Missions

Teams of low-cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have gained acceptance as an alternative for cooperatively searching and surveilling terrains. These UAVs are assembled with low-reliability components, so unit failures are possible. Losing UAVs to failures decreases the team\u27s coverage efficiency and impacts communication, given that UAVs are also communication nodes. Such is the case of a Flying Ad Hoc Network (FANET), where the failure of a communication node may isolate segments of the network covering several nodes. The main goal of this study is to develop a resilience model that would allow us to analyze the effects of individual UAV failures on the team\u27s performance to improve the team\u27s resilience. The proposed solution models and simulates the UAV team using Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation. UAVs are modeled as autonomous agents, and the searched terrain as a two-dimensional M x N grid. Communication between agents permits having the exact data on the transit and occupation of all cells in real time. Such communication allows the UAV agents to estimate the best alternatives to move within the grid and know the exact number of all agents\u27 visits to the cells. Each UAV is simulated as a hobbyist, fixed-wing airplane equipped with a generic set of actuators and a generic controller. Individual UAV failures are simulated following reliability Fault Trees. Each affected UAV is disabled and eliminated from the pool of active units. After each unit failure, the system generates a new topology. It produces a set of minimum-distance trees for each node (UAV) in the grid. The new trees will thus depict the rearrangement links as required after a node failure or if changes occur in the topology due to node movement. The model should generate parameters such as the number and location of compromised nodes, performance before and after the failure, and the estimated time of restitution needed to model the team\u27s resilience. The study addresses three research goals: identifying appropriate tools for modeling UAV scenarios, developing a model for assessing UAVs team resilience that overcomes previous studies\u27 limitations, and testing the model through multiple simulations. The study fills a gap in the literature as previous studies focus on system communication disruptions (i.e., node failures) without considering UAV unit reliability. This consideration becomes critical as using small, low-cost units prone to failure becomes widespread

Smart Green Communication Protocols Based on Several-Fold Messages Extracted from Common Sequential Patterns in UAVs

[EN] Green communications can be crucial for saving energy in UAVs and enhancing their autonomy. The current work proposes to extract common sequential patterns of communications to gather each common pattern into a single several- fold message with a high-level compression. Since the messages of a pattern are elapsed from each other in time, the current approach performs a machine learning approach for estimating the elapsed times using off-line training. The learned predictive model is applied by each UAV during flight when receiving a several-fold compressed message. We have explored neural networks, linear regression and correlation analyses among others. The current approach has been tested in the domain of surveillance. In specific-purpose fleets of UAVs, the number of transmissions was reduced by 13.9 percent.This work was mainly done during the stay of the first author at the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown (now called Technological University Dublin), with the support from the "Universidad de Zaragoza," " Fundacion Bancaria Ibercaja," and "Fundacion CAI" in the "Programa Ibercaja-CAI de Estancias de Investigacion" with reference IT1/18. This work also acknowledges the research project "Construccion de un framework para agilizar el desarrollo de aplicaciones moviles en el ambito de la salud" funded by the University of Zaragoza and the Foundation Ibercaja with grant reference JIUZ-2017-TEC-03. We also acknowledge "CITIES: Ciudades inteligentes totalmente integrales, eficientes y sotenibles" (ref. 518RT0558) funded by CYTED ("Programa Iberoamericano de Ciencia y Tecnologia para el Desarrollo") and "Diseno colaborativo para la promocion del bienestar en ciudades inteligentes inclusivas" (TIN2017-88327-R) funded by the Spanish Council of Science, Innovation and Universities from the Spanish Government. This work has been partially supported by the "Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad" in the "Programa Estatal de Fomento de la Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnica de Excelencia, Subprograma Estatal de Generacin de Conocimiento" within the project under Grant TIN2017-84802-C2-1-P.García-Magariño, I.; Gray, G.; Lacuesta Gilaberte, R.; Lloret, J. (2020). Smart Green Communication Protocols Based on Several-Fold Messages Extracted from Common Sequential Patterns in UAVs. IEEE Network. 34(3):249-255. https://doi.org/10.1109/MNET.001.190041724925534

Smart Green Communication Protocols Based on Several-Fold Messages Extracted from Common Sequential Patterns in UAVs

Green communications can be crucial for saving energy in UAVs and enhancing their autonomy. The current work proposes to extract common sequential patterns of communications to gather each common pattern into a single several- fold message with a high-level compression. Since the messages of a pattern are elapsed from each other in time, the current approach performs a machine learning approach for estimating the elapsed times using off-line training. The learned predictive model is applied by each UAV during flight when receiving a several-fold compressed message. We have explored neural networks, linear regression and correlation analyses among others. The current approach has been tested in the domain of surveillance. In specific-purpose fleets of UAVs, the number of transmissions was reduced by 13.9 percent

Training of Crisis Mappers and Map Production from Multi-sensor Data: Vernazza Case Study (Cinque Terre National Park, Italy)

This aim of paper is to presents the development of a multidisciplinary project carried out by the cooperation between Politecnico di Torino and ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action). The goal of the project was the training in geospatial data acquiring and processing for students attending Architecture and Engineering Courses, in order to start up a team of "volunteer mappers". Indeed, the project is aimed to document the environmental and built heritage subject to disaster; the purpose is to improve the capabilities of the actors involved in the activities connected in geospatial data collection, integration and sharing. The proposed area for testing the training activities is the Cinque Terre National Park, registered in the World Heritage List since 1997. The area was affected by flood on the 25th of October 2011. According to other international experiences, the group is expected to be active after emergencies in order to upgrade maps, using data acquired by typical geomatic methods and techniques such as terrestrial and aerial Lidar, close-range and aerial photogrammetry, topographic and GNSS instruments etc.; or by non conventional systems and instruments such us UAV, mobile mapping etc. The ultimate goal is to implement a WebGIS platform to share all the data collected with local authorities and the Civil Protectio

Communication and Control in Collaborative UAVs: Recent Advances and Future Trends

The recent progress in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) technology has significantly advanced UAV-based applications for military, civil, and commercial domains. Nevertheless, the challenges of establishing high-speed communication links, flexible control strategies, and developing efficient collaborative decision-making algorithms for a swarm of UAVs limit their autonomy, robustness, and reliability. Thus, a growing focus has been witnessed on collaborative communication to allow a swarm of UAVs to coordinate and communicate autonomously for the cooperative completion of tasks in a short time with improved efficiency and reliability. This work presents a comprehensive review of collaborative communication in a multi-UAV system. We thoroughly discuss the characteristics of intelligent UAVs and their communication and control requirements for autonomous collaboration and coordination. Moreover, we review various UAV collaboration tasks, summarize the applications of UAV swarm networks for dense urban environments and present the use case scenarios to highlight the current developments of UAV-based applications in various domains. Finally, we identify several exciting future research direction that needs attention for advancing the research in collaborative UAVs

ENHANCEMENT OF SPECIAL OPERATIONS ORGANIZATION IN THE DHS

In 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General found that the DHS is ineffective at executing cross-component operations. To address this deficiency, this thesis asks how can DHS special operations teams leverage collective capabilities to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and unity of effort? The thesis reviews academic literature on organizational integrating mechanisms and comparative case studies of U.S. military special operations forces, Operation Eagle Claw, the Goldwater-Nichols Act, United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), Joint Special Operations Task Force, and Australian Federal Police Specialist Response Group to seek solutions for the DHS. The results show that organizational design, informal networks, and routines have been successfully used by these organizations to achieve collaboration and interoperability. This thesis recommends that the DHS: 1) create a DHS Joint Special Operations Working Group for interoperability recommendations; 2) create a professional forum for DHS special operations personnel to collaborate; 3) initiate joint training programs; 4) establish liaison roles and exchange programs between Component teams; 5) create a DHS Special Operations Command (DHSSOC) as a joint force structure to coordinate and advocate for special operations; and 6) create a Joint Special Operations Directorate within DHSSOC as a standing force to develop integrated routines and equipment.Civilian, Department of Homeland SecurityApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Resources Efficient Dynamic Clustering Algorithm for Flying Ad-Hoc Network

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, often known as UAVs, are connected in the form of a Flying Ad-hoc Network, or FANET, and placed to use in a variety of applications to carry out efficient remote monitoring. Their great mobility has an adverse effect on their energy consumption, which in turn has a detrimental effect on the network's stability and the effectiveness of communication. To manage the very dynamic flying behavior of UAVs and to keep the network stable, novel clustering algorithms have been implemented. In this context, a novel clustering technique is developed to meet the rapid mobility of UAVs and to offer safe inter-UAV distance, reliable communication, and an extended network lifespan. It also provides a detailed analysis of the similarities and distinctions between AODV, AOMDV, DSDV, and DumbAgent.The performance of these protocols is analyzed using the NS-2 simulator. The simulation results are shown in our study with AODV, AOMDV, DSDV, and DumbAgent. The results of the simulation make it abundantly evident that the AODV routing protocol outperforms the other routing protocols DSDV, AOMDV, and DumbAgent in terms of the number of packets lost, the amount of throughput achieved, the amount of routing overhead generated, and the amount of delay

A Survey of Security in UAVs and FANETs: Issues, Threats, Analysis of Attacks, and Solutions

Thanks to the rapidly developing technology, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are able to complete a number of tasks in cooperation with each other without need for human intervention. In recent years, UAVs, which are widely utilized in military missions, have begun to be deployed in civilian applications and mostly for commercial purposes. With their growing numbers and range of applications, UAVs are becoming more and more popular; on the other hand, they are also the target of various threats which can exploit various vulnerabilities of UAV systems in order to cause destructive effects. It is therefore critical that security is ensured for UAVs and the networks that provide communication between UAVs. In this survey, we aimed to present a comprehensive detailed approach to security by classifying possible attacks against UAVs and flying ad hoc networks (FANETs). We classified the security threats into four major categories that make up the basic structure of UAVs; hardware attacks, software attacks, sensor attacks, and communication attacks. In addition, countermeasures against these attacks are presented in separate groups as prevention and detection. In particular, we focus on the security of FANETs, which face significant security challenges due to their characteristics and are also vulnerable to insider attacks. Therefore, this survey presents a review of the security fundamentals for FANETs, and also four different routing attacks against FANETs are simulated with realistic parameters and then analyzed. Finally, limitations and open issues are also discussed to direct future wor

The Efficiency and Effectiveness of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Used in Logistics Problems Solving Due to Territorial Infrastructure

The use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems RPAS has been considered for a wide range of tasks performed in global logistics systems and territorial infrastructure. In order to improve the efficiency the advanced methods of using new unmanned vehicles with extensive use of features modular construction and design modifications have been proposed