1.4) AERPAW Radio Node Types

Types of AERPAW Radio Nodes

There are two types of physical nodes in AERPAW: 

1. AERPAW portable radio nodes (APRN)

2. AERPAW fixed radio nodes (AFRN) 

The two are intended to be functionally very similar or identical, except that the APRN uses a much smaller form-factor so that it is suitable for powering from a battery and being physically carried on a vehicle.  Accordingly, the APRN has much less compute power, storage, memory, and fewer (and less powerful) SDRs. Information on what specific equipment is available in each type of radio node can be found in the equipment information section of this user manual. 

The diagram below summarizes the relations and individual components of the AFRN and APRN. The APRN includes an experimental virtual machine (E-VM) that is programmed by the experimenter, and it includes the radio software and vehicle software that define the experiment. The APRN is connected to a USRP B205mini that is controlled by the radio software. The vehicle software, on the other hand, controls the autopilot on the UAV, for managing the trajectory of the drone. The AFRN architecture is similar to the APRN. The difference is there is no vehicle application and autopilot in an AFRN. There are also multiple  USRPs connected to an AFRN. 

AFRN Architecture

APRN Architecture