The objective of the AdHoc Committee on Drones is to promote research among the members of the IEEE VTS community in this important discipline. The committee is in charge of creating a roadmap for promoting research within the VTS community in topics related to Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) including UAS connectivity, navigation, command and control, autonomy, reliability, safety, security, and regulatory aspects, among others.
Accomplishments of the AdHoc Committee on Drones
1. Promoting Research within IEEE Community
The committee published two special Issues in IEEE VT magazine. Each special issue received about 20 submissions from which 4 papers were selected for publication.
- First issue: “Communication Support for Unmanned Air Transportation”, June 2020.
- Second issue: “Advanced Aerial Mobility”, September 2021.
The committee organized three workshops, one tutorial and one panel. About 50 people attended the panel. The attendance for each workshop and tutorial was about 20. The attendance exhibits a growing interest on drones in the IEEE VTS community.
- VTC2019-Spring: Workshop on Drones—Swarm Intelligence: Autonomous and Connected Unmanned Aircraft Systems
- VTC2019-Fall: Workshop on Swarm Intelligence: Autonomous and Connected Unmanned Aircraft Systems
- VTC2020-Fall: Workshop on Urban Air Mobility
- VTC2020-Fall: Tutorial on Aerial Communications and Networks
- VTC2019-Fall: Young Professionals Panel
2. Engaging with the Industry
Vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communications use case was developed and presented in NASA Advance Air Mobility Ecosystem Working Group on 09/21/2021. More than 100 people attended this webinar showing significant interest in the industry. This demonstrates the rising interest and the need for V2V communications that the AdHoc committee is championing over the past three years.
AAM Ecosystem Airspace WG: Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) Communications Use Case
3. IEEE Standards
The committee is leading two IEEE standards on drones. This leadership allowed us to connect and collaborate with other standards organizations including Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), ASTM International, and General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA).
IEEE P1920.1 Standard Draft for “Aerial Communications and Networks” is in the revision process after the first successful ballot. Received about 200 comments and it took a long time to address them. It has been submitted for second ballot.
IEEE P1920.2 Standard for V2V Communications for UAS is progressing well. By the end of 2022, this group plans produce three whitepapers on security, use cases, and spectrum aspects.
4. Engaging Students in Research
An Innovation challenge was held successfully in 2021. The competition received about 12 entries and three were selected for awards. Three awards $2000, $1000, and $750 were given. Entries along with datasets are made available on IEEE Dataport.
