On the Security of the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Protocol

Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) is the communications protocol currently being rolled out as part of next generation air transportation systems. As the heart of modern air traffic control, it will play an essential role in the protection of two billion passengers per year, besides being crucial to many other interest groups in aviation. The inherent lack of security measures in the ADS-B protocol has long been a topic in both the aviation circles and in the academic community. Due to recently published proof-of-concept attacks, the topic is becoming ever more pressing, especially with the deadline for mandatory implementation in most airspaces fast approaching. This survey first summarizes the attacks and problems that have been reported in relation to ADS-B security. Thereafter, it surveys both the theoretical and practical efforts which have been previously conducted concerning these issues, including possible countermeasures. In addition, the survey seeks to go beyond the current state of the art and gives a detailed assessment of security measures which have been developed more generally for related wireless networks such as sensor networks and vehicular ad hoc networks, including a taxonomy of all considered approaches.Comment: Survey, 22 Pages, 21 Figure

Road Infrastructure Challenges Faced by Automated Driving: A Review

Automated driving can no longer be referred to as hype or science fiction but rather a technology that has been gradually introduced to the market. The recent activities of regulatory bodies and the market penetration of automated driving systems (ADS) demonstrate that society is exhibiting increasing interest in this field and gradually accepting new methods of transport. Automated driving, however, does not depend solely on the advances of onboard sensor technology or artificial intelligence (AI). One of the essential factors in achieving trust and safety in automated driving is road infrastructure, which requires careful consideration. Historically, the development of road infrastructure has been guided by human perception, but today we are at a turning point at which this perspective is not sufficient. In this study, we review the limitations and advances made in the state of the art of automated driving technology with respect to road infrastructure in order to identify gaps that are essential for bridging the transition from human control to self-driving. The main findings of this study are grouped into the following five clusters, characterised according to challenges that must be faced in order to cope with future mobility: international harmonisation of traffic signs and road markings, revision of the maintenance of the road infrastructure, review of common design patterns, digitalisation of road networks, and interdisciplinarity. The main contribution of this study is the provision of a clear and concise overview of the interaction between road infrastructure and ADS as well as the support of international activities to define the requirements of road infrastructure for the successful deployment of ADS

Obstacle avoidance based-visual navigation for micro aerial vehicles

This paper describes an obstacle avoidance system for low-cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) using vision as the principal source of information through the monocular onboard camera. For detecting obstacles, the proposed system compares the image obtained in real time from the UAV with a database of obstacles that must be avoided. In our proposal, we include the feature point detector Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF) for fast obstacle detection and a control law to avoid them. Furthermore, our research includes a path recovery algorithm. Our method is attractive for compact MAVs in which other sensors will not be implemented. The system was tested in real time on a Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV), to detect and avoid obstacles in an unknown controlled environment; we compared our approach with related works.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

A Robust Localization System for Inspection Robots in Sewer Networks †

Sewers represent a very important infrastructure of cities whose state should be monitored periodically. However, the length of such infrastructure prevents sensor networks from being applicable. In this paper, we present a mobile platform (SIAR) designed to inspect the sewer network. It is capable of sensing gas concentrations and detecting failures in the network such as cracks and holes in the floor and walls or zones were the water is not flowing. These alarms should be precisely geo-localized to allow the operators performing the required correcting measures. To this end, this paper presents a robust localization system for global pose estimation on sewers. It makes use of prior information of the sewer network, including its topology, the different cross sections traversed and the position of some elements such as manholes. The system is based on a Monte Carlo Localization system that fuses wheel and RGB-D odometry for the prediction stage. The update step takes into account the sewer network topology for discarding wrong hypotheses. Additionally, the localization is further refined with novel updating steps proposed in this paper which are activated whenever a discrete element in the sewer network is detected or the relative orientation of the robot over the sewer gallery could be estimated. Each part of the system has been validated with real data obtained from the sewers of Barcelona. The whole system is able to obtain median localization errors in the order of one meter in all cases. Finally, the paper also includes comparisons with state-of-the-art Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) systems that demonstrate the convenience of the approach.Unión Europea ECHORD ++ 601116Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades de España RTI2018-100847-B-C2

Radio Frequency Identification in Supporting Traffic Safety

Due to the increased demands of traffic safety applicationsmany parameters of the traffic flow have to be measured bydifferent kind of techniques. The sensors of vehicle sensing anddetection are to be inexpensive, currently available and easy todeploy. Therefore, the state-of-the-art safety applications areusually based on mature technologies, such as video cameras,smart dust sensors, and wireless communication technologies.This paper discusses the application of RFID technology fortransportation applications. RFID is widely used for differentpurposes (e.g. cargo logistics, storage management), but isstill considered as new technology in the field of safety-relatedapplications.The paper gives an overview about the technology anddescribes scenarios of using RFID as infrastructure as well asvehicle sensor. The capabilities and limitations of RFID technologyis demonstrated through the ghost driver (wrong waydriving) detection, which is discussed in detail. In this particularapplication RFID is used as an infrastructure sensor, multiplereaders are connected in a network, thus able to monitorthe traffic flow directions in a particular road segment (e.g.in a motorway junction). Additional applications, such as flowclassification, road toll control and emergency monitoring arealso discussed in the paper

Feasibility of an onboard wake vortex avoidance system

It was determined that an onboard vortex wake detection system using existing, proven instrumentation is technically feasible. This system might be incorporated into existing onboard systems such as a wind shear detection system, and might provide the pilot with the location of a vortex wake, as well as an evasive maneuver so that the landing separations may be reduced. It is suggested that this system might be introduced into our nation's commuter aircraft fleet and major air carrier fleet and permit a reduction of current landing separation standards, thereby reducing takeoff and departure delays