SBIR Phase II: A software-based tool for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone's connection reliability enhancement

这一小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力将改善用于包裹递送、空中监视和基础设施检查的自主无人机系统(UAS)服务。这项工作的目标是提供视线(BVLOS)以外的无人机服务，并实现与远程地面控制站的可靠通信链路。现有的控制BVLOS无人机的解决方案要么基于昂贵订阅费的卫星连接，要么基于网络可用性有限、频繁中断和高干扰的蜂窝产品。该团队的集成软件解决方案将利用现有移动网络(2G/3G/4G/5G)的语音通道冗余来增强BVLOS无人机的连接可靠性，识别并缓解链路故障的情况，并为最佳路线选择提供准确的网络覆盖可视化。该团队无处不在的、超可靠和低延迟的通信技术使蜂窝连接的UAS服务提供商能够可靠地控制他们的远程UAS，并受益于与卫星链路相比更少的任务流产和更低的成本。该软件解决方案的灵活性可以服务于每个无人机使用案例，并可以更快地通过监管审批流程让更多的无人机公司进入市场，从而减少进入市场的时间。这个小企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目旨在开发一种基于软件的解决方案，为BVLOS无人机提供可扩展、冗余和有保证的蜂窝网络连接。该专有软件解决方案基于三个使能功能：语音通道冗余、连接选择算法和网络映射工具。在该项目中，研发工作将致力于1)开发可扩展的纯软件版本的语音数据技术，该技术与商业现成的通信硬件一起运行；2)实施软件解决方案，使无人机连接在端到端可靠，并动态适应无人机使用案例的要求；3)开发航空网络覆盖可视化工具，为无人机行业提供有关空域连接的宝贵见解；4)固件实施用于克服连接故障和进一步提高网络可靠性的解决方案，以及5)开发管理连接仪表盘的应用编程接口(API)。这些活动的成功完成将为BVLOS无人机提供全功能的纯软件解决方案，其安全性和性能通过地面/空中测量进行验证，从而确认了商业潜力。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will improve Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) services used in package delivery, aerial surveillance, and infrastructure inspections. The goal of the effort is to provide UAS services beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) and enable reliable communication links to remote ground control stations. Existing solutions for control of BVLOS drones are based on either satellite connections with expensive subscription fees or cellular-based products with limited network availability, frequent interruptions, and high interference. The team’s integrated software solution will enhance the connection reliability for BVLOS drones using the voice channel redundancy of the existing mobile network (2G/3G/4G/5G), identify and mitigate the circumstances of the link failure, and provide an accurate visualization of the network coverage for optimal route selection. The team’s ubiquitous, ultrareliable, and low-latency communication technology allows cellular-connected UAS service providers to reliably control their long-range UAS, and benefit from fewer mission abortions and reduced costs compared to satellite links. The flexibility of the software solution can serve every drone use case and can get more drone companies through the regulatory approval process faster, reducing the time to enter the market.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to develop a software-based solution that provides scalable, redundant, and guaranteed cellular network connection for BVLOS drones. The proprietary software solution is based on three enabling features voice channel redundancy, a connection selection algorithm and a network mapping tool. In this project, the research and development efforts will be dedicated to 1) the development of the scalable software-only version of the data-over-voice technology operating with commercial off-the-shelf communication hardware, 2) implementation of software solutions to make drone connectivity reliable end-to-end and dynamically adapt to the requirements of drone use cases; 3) development of the aerial network coverage visualization tool to provide the drone industry with valuable insights into connectivity in airspace, 4) firmware implementation of solutions for overcoming the connectivity failures and further enhancing the network reliability, and 5) development of an application programming interface (API) which manages connectivity dashboard. The successful completion of these activities will deliver the fully functional software-only solution for BVLOS drones with its safety and performance validated with ground/air measurements, thus confirming the commercial potential.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.