The technology in focus is a drone distributed communication standard, which mitigates collision risk between drones. It facilitates the simultaneous operation of hundreds of drones, offering a leap forward in the efficiency of unmanned aerial vehicle operations.
The established international standards pertain to Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Communication Networks (UAAN), spanning four detailed technologies: communication model and requirements, shared communication, control communication, and video communication for unmanned aerial vehicles.
A significant potential market awaits as the ETRI's drone communication technology, now an international standard, could lead to numerous international standard patents in the future.
The core of this international drone communication standard is the Evolved Wireless Ad-hoc Network (EVAN) technology. This technology is a hyper-connected innovation projected to be a catalyst for future societal advancements. EVAN technology's application in the drone sector allows for information sharing between drones, collision prevention among large-scale drones, and collision avoidance with terrestrial obstacles.
With a service communication distance of about 5 km, the standard allows mutual recognition between drones, as well as drones and helicopters, safeguarding the flight safety of both manned and unmanned aircraft.
This new standard solves problems such as coordinating drones from different manufacturers to spray pesticides on large farms or to fly over fire zones during large fires. The technology is cost-effective and lightweight, providing a feasible alternative to expensive drone recognition radars.
In addition, this standard enables the interconnection of drones and associated devices, serving as an integrated communication platform. Drone-related services such as control, image transmission, autonomous collision avoidance, and communication with takeoff and landing sites can be interconnected.
With these standards, Korea becomes the only country in the world with autonomous drone collision avoidance capabilities through its 'Unmanned Aircraft Area Network' and the 'Low Altitude Unmanned Aircraft Detection and Avoidance Application Layer Technology' standard of the Korea Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA).
The communication modem of this standard, if installed on a moving obstacle not displayed on a map, supports autonomous drone flight. It also offers other services such as direct communication with Vertiport, providing flight priority when maintaining bridges or surveying buildings.
The standard includes a security feature, where the drone transmits a changing password (trust field) with each signal, allowing for automatic ground-based identification of legitimate or illegal drones.
ETRI's 'Unmanned Aircraft Area Network' standard also shows promise for Personal Air Vehicle (PAV) communication, ideal for urban air mobility, which requires communication redundancy. This standard could supplement areas where mobile communication networks are unreliable.
Lim Chae-deok, head of the Air Mobility Research Division at ETRI, emphasized the potential of this standard to ensure drone operation stability, crucial for commercial drone services. "With EVAN technology at its core, this standard will help lead fast and convenient future air mobility services," he said.
The researchers believe that EVAN technology can evolve into a unified communication platform, offering services such as home and vehicle control, indoor navigation, children's safety, and even aiding in locating missing persons.
Related Links
National Research Council of Science and Technology
UAV News - Suppliers and Technology
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