Unmanned System Data Format and Protocol

                                Unmanned System Data Format and Protocol
Introduction

Unmanned system remote sensing technology continues to expand as the commercial applications of the vehicle produces welcoming results. This short article reviews the technical specification of the FireFly6 Pro in term of the available sensors, sensors’ data format, transmission protocol, and the integration of the sensor.

Technical Specifications
BirdEye Aerobotics built FireFly6 Pro (Fig.1) that can cover 600 acres in one mission at the cruise speed ranging from 30 to 35 Kts. This 9 lbs unmanned aircraft system has the VTOL capabilities and a plug-and-play payload comprising a wide range of advanced sensors that collect data of specific format and transmit data using appropriate protocols. FireFly6 Pro has a maximum payload capacity of 1.7 lbs that can comprise one or the combination of the following remote sensing technology: video, visual, LiDar, hyperspectral, multispectral, and thermal sensors (BirdEye Aerobotics, n.d.). The type of sensors the operator decides to install on the UAV is mission-specific while first passive and active sensors ensure the 3Cs (Command, Control, and Communicate).


Figure1. FireFly6 Pro
Source: BirdEyes Aerobotics Official Web site.

Figure 2 FireFLY6 PRO Flight time versus Payload per sensor and battery type
Source: https://www.birdseyeview.aero/collections/payloads-pro

As the payload increases (Fig.2), the maximum flight time decreases depending on the LiHV (Lithium High Voltage) or LiPO (Lithium Polymer) batteries used for power. The price of sensors collecting data varies from 500 to 6000 dollars and encompasses the following equipment:
-Sequoia
-Gimbaled GoPro/Vue (multispectral camera or NIR)
-RedEdge
-A6000
-AR7
-RXIRII

For example, the Slantrange 3P (2i or 2p) contains a removable SD card that can be used for faster processing at the ground operation center, and this sensor contains four spectral bands: Blue, Green, Red, and NIR. If the UAV uses the 3P multispectral sensor, there is no need for the Internet for cloud upload, and the sensor has data storage capacity of 64 Gb. The data format output can be Kml, Shp, and GeoTiff. The 3p (2i/2p) can use 6w/10w at 9.2-32.0 VDC (LandView, n.d.).

The RedEdge uses five spectral bands (Blue, Green, Red, Red edge, near-infrared) and can produce orthomosaic and GeoTiff data format. The sensor has ethernet and Real-Time Kinematic RTK capabilities. The sensor kit comes with a Downwelling Light Sensor (DLS) and a GPS which combined to RTK ensure an accurate navigation position.
RedEdge sensors comprise camera ports contain a removable WIFI module, power and trigger, external communication, DLS/GPS module connection, an SD card port, a DLS port for a magnetometer, a GPS and a camera. The network interfaces comprise a serial, Serial, 10/100/1000 Ethernet, removable Wi-Fi, external trigger, GPS, and SDHC. This sensor's external power is 4.2 V DC - 15.6 V DC 4 W nominal, 8 W peak (Micasense, n.d.).

These sensors can produce orthomosaics, 3D models, point clouds and digital surface models, and when used in conjunction with an installed GPS the UAV can generate 2D and 3D geo-referenced images (PrecisionHawk, 2018). 

The command and control function of an unmanned aircraft system is ensured by the GPS, barometer, accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer. The ethernet allows the integration of sensors function to production corrected and accurate data.
 Understandably when the UAV uses sensors having the ethernet and WIFI interfaces, the Local area network (LAN)/ Wide area network (WAN) will use the following protocol: IP/TCP or UDP.

 Data Treatment Alternative
We recommend the integration of sensors functions such as data collected such as there is the interoperability of these plug-and-play sensors. Such capability can increase the data processing speed. According to Pires et al., (2014):
The communication and integration for cooperation in the backdrop of UAVs is the key to interoperability between devices such as smart sensors and processing subsystems (such as mission processing boards, navigation and autopilot systems and possible embedded web-servers). Since the payload capacity is one of the sUAV challenges, integrating the multiple sensors in one can provide some load saving. For example, the UAV can combine in one unit the GPS, the IMU, the digital and the infrared camera to facilitate the georeferencing of the collected images.

Conclusion
BirdEyeView FireFly6 Pro is one of the best-unmanned aircraft that can be employed in agriculture, mapping, land survey, intelligence, search and reconnaissance(ISR). The sensors payload is mission specific, and the user can just plug-and-play to change the UAV applications. 
                                                               References
BirdEyes Aerobotics. (n.d.). Payloads. Retrieved from https://www.birdseyeview.aero/collections/payloads-pro

LandviewDrones. (n.d.). NDVI. Retrieved from https://www.landviewdrones.com/firefly6sl2p

MicaSense. (n.d.). RedEdge-M. Retrieved from https://www.micasense.com/rededge-m/

Pires, R. M., Chaves, A. A., & Branco, Kalinka R. L. J. C. (2014). Smart sensor protocol - a new standard for UAV and payload integration. Paper presented at the 1300-1310. doi:10.1109/ICUAS.2014.6842388

PrecisionHawk. (n.d.). Sensors. Retrieved from https://www.precisionhawk.com/sensors/

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