One of the most important design problems for multi-UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicle) systems is the communication which is crucial for cooperation and collaboration between the UAVs. If all UAVs are directly connected to an infrastructure, such as a ground base or a satellite, the communication between UAVs can be realized through the in-frastructure. However, this infrastructure based communication architecture restricts the capabilities of the multi-UAV systems. Ad-hoc networking between UAVs can solve the problems arising from a fully infrastructure based UAV networks. In this paper, Flying Ad-Hoc Networks (FANETs) are surveyed which is an ad hoc network connecting the UAVs. The differences between FANETs, MANETs (Mobile Ad-hoc Networks) and VANETs (Vehicle Ad-Hoc Networks) are clarified first, and then the main FANET design challenges are introduced. Along with the existing FANET protocols, open research issues are also discussed.

Flying Ad-Hoc Networks (FANETs)

A current survey of the emerging field of networked control systems is provided. The aim is to introduce the fundamental issues involved in designing successful networked control systems, to provide a snapshot assessment of the current state of research in the field, to suggest useful future research directions, and to provide a broad perspective on recent fundamental results. Reflecting the goals of the Special Issue itself, this paper surveys relevant work from the areas of systems and control, signal processing, detection and estimation, data fusion, and distributed systems. We discuss appropriate network architectures, topics such as coding for robustly stable control in the presence of time-varying channel capacity, channels with fixed versus adaptively variable data width, issues in data rate problems in nonlinear feedback problems, and problems in routing for stability and performance. In surveying current research on networked control systems, we find that recent theoretical advances and target applications are intimately intertwined. The common goal of papers in the Special Issue which follows is to describe key aspects of this relationship. We also aim to provide a bridge between networked control systems and closely related contemporary work dealing with sensor networks and wireless communication protocols

Control and Communication Challenges in Networked Real-Time Systems

Civil engineers always face the challenge of uncertainty in planning, building, and maintaining infrastructure. These works rely heavily on a variety of surveying and monitoring techniques. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are an effective approach to obtain information from an additional view, and potentially bring significant benefits to civil engineering. This paper gives an overview of the state of UAV developments and their possible applications in civil engineering. The paper begins with an introduction to
UAV hardware, software, and control methodologies. It also reviews the latest developments in technologies
related to UAVs, such as control theories, navigation methods, and image processing. Finally, the paper
concludes with a summary of the potential applications of UAV to seismic risk assessment, transportation,
disaster response, construction management, surveying and mapping, and flood monitoring and assessment.

A review of rotorcraft Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) developments and applications in civil engineering

This brief addresses the security issues of data transmitted in networked control systems (NCSs), especially confidentiality, integrity and authenticity. A secure networked predictive control system (SNPCS) architecture is presented, which integrates the Data Encryption Standard (DES) algorithm, Message Digest (MD5) algorithm, timestamp strategy, and recursive networked predictive control (RNPC) method. The former three parts are used to form a secure transmission mechanism between the controller side and the plant side, which is responsible for enforcing the data confidentiality and checking the data integrity and authenticity. To guarantee the control system performance when suffering from deception attacks, the RNPC method based on round-trip time delays is proposed to compensate for the adverse effects introduced by the deception attacks as well as the network communication constraints, such as time-varying network delay, packet disorder and packet dropout. A theoretical result using the switched system theory is obtained for the closed-loop stability of the RNPC system. Practical experiments are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed SNPCS.

Design and Implementation of Secure Networked Predictive Control Systems Under Deception Attacks

This paper presents a path planner for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) based on evolutionary algorithms (EAs) for realistic scenarios. The paths returned by the algorithm fulfill and optimize multiple criteria that 1) are calculated based on the properties of real UAVs, terrains, radars, and missiles and 2) are structured in different levels of priority according to the selected mission. The paths of all the UAVs are obtained with the multiple coordinated agents coevolution EA (MCACEA), which is a general framework that uses an EA per agent (i.e., UAV) that share their optimal solutions to coordinate the evolutions of the EAs populations using cooperation objectives. This planner works offline and online by means of recalculating parts of the original path to avoid unexpected risks while the UAV is flying. Its search space and computation time have been reduced using some special operators in the EAs. The successful results of the paths obtained in multiple scenarios, which are statistically analyzed in the paper, and tested against a simulator that incorporates complex models of the UAVs, radars, and missiles, make us believe that this planner could be used for real-flight missions.

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Evolutionary Trajectory Planner for Multiple UAVs in Realistic Scenarios

Military systems are the motivational driver for much of the technology development conducted at applied research laboratories around the world. As the needs of the world's militaries change, so does the focus of this research and development. In this paper, we discuss how the fundamental characteristics of military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) impose requirements and constraints on sensing and reconnaissance. We highlight the importance of a new class of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for network-centric military urban operations. We review some of the UAVs that have been developed in recent years, and that are under development, with particular attention to their endurance, portability, performance, payload, and communication capabilities. Selected university testbeds are also briefly noted. Over the last few years there has been considerable research focused on how these small UAVs, both individually and collectively, can operate autonomously in urban environments and help capture and communicate needed information. We discuss some of this research; specific topics covered include guidance and control for autonomous operation, multi-UAV coordination and route optimization, and ad-hoc networking with UAV nodes. A new concept of operations is described that relies on coordination and control of a heterogeneous suite of small UAVs for surveillance and reconnaissance operations in urban terrain

D. Godbole

Papers

Network-Centric Systems for Military Operations in Urban Terrain: The Role of UAVs