Award Number: 19A39-023FP
Project Summary:
The purpose of this project is to prove the principle that a novel 5G wireless network using newly available millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency bands can operate Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with Machine to Machine (M2M) communication. If successful, this proposed network will provide a superior alternative to existing methods with improved radio frequency (RF) coverage and resiliency against cyberattacks. The use of UAVs or drones for non-military applications has been advancing rapidly for a large number of applications in the United States. They include public safety search and rescue of natural disaster victims, surveillance of remote critical infrastructure, surveys of environmental quality in protected regions, and detection of threats during major public events. The proposed approach involves research with modeling, simulation, and experimentation to validate the hypothesis in the following thrusts:
Task 1: Using mmWave beams with antennas tilted upward for RF coverage in the sky to analyze the security, reliability, and spectral efficiency of this wireless network for UAV/drone operation.
Task 2: Adding non orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) to analyze increase in security and spectral efficiency when compared to existing methods.
Task 3: Adding intra-drone communication among the swarm of drones to analyze further increase in reliability and spectral efficiency.
Task 4: Concluding the proof of principle/concept with modeling and experiment to demonstrate that a swarm of drones controlled with this advanced network can be effectively used during the simulated recovery of a critical infrastructure e.g. a cyber compromised power grid that requires a black restart.