System and method for generating a network-based cloud system that supports regional, national and international drone systems

Abstract

The present invention discloses a network-based cloud system and method for generating a system that supports regional, national, and international unmanned aerial vehicles. The system includes a higher-level server, a plurality of lower-level servers that are directly communicatively connected to the higher-level server, and one or more control stations that are directly communicatively connected to the lower-level servers. Each control station is configured to: control the flight operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle; obtain flight information and location information of the unmanned aerial vehicle; and provide updates on the flight information and location information of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the lower-level servers. Each lower-level server is configured to: process the flight information and location information received from the control station; and provide updates on the flight information and location information from the control station to the higher-level server.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related patent applications

[0002] This application is related to U.S. patent application No. 13 / 792,259, filed on March 11, 2013, and entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REAL-TIME DATA COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION TRANSMISSION WITH OPERATORS OF SMALL UNINEAVAL SYSTEMS (sUAS)”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0003] This application is also related to U.S. patent application No. 14 / 318,569, filed on July 27, 2014, entitled “Unmanned Vehicle Mission Planning, Coordination and Cooperation,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0004] This application is also related to U.S. patent application No. 14 / 612,273, filed on February 2, 2015, entitled "Using Local, Available Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Information to Increase Situational Awareness by Increasing Local Aircraft Position Information Processed by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Ground Control Station from Other Sources of 'Knowledge'", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0005] The present invention relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle technology, and in particular to a system and method for generating a network cloud system that supports regional, domestic and international unmanned aerial vehicle systems. Background Art

[0006] The term "unmanned aerial vehicles" (UAVs) generally refers to flying vehicles without a human on board. The term "unmanned aerial systems" (UASs) generally refers to a class of UAVs, usually referred to as remotely piloted aircraft and / or remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs), which can be controlled by flight operations from takeoff to recovery and / or landing like traditional aircraft. The control system of these UASs can be controlled by a remote control operator who obtains a real-time or near real-time flight profile through continuous communication with a specific UAS, or the control system of the UASs can also execute pre-planned and pre-programmed flight plans that can be independently executed by a specific UAS. The control plan can also be a combination of the above two control systems, so that a flight can include both remotely operated control periods and pre-programmed control periods.

[0007] Information about the operation of UASs (and UAVs in general) is often not readily available or unknown to some other relevant party, from air traffic controllers, national aviation authorities (e.g., the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, in the United States), and other operators of aircraft such as UASs (manually operated or unmanned). Lack of information about the operation of UASs can lead to unimaginable consequences. This is where improvement is needed. Summary of the invention

[0008] In one aspect, embodiments disclosed herein relate to a hierarchical system for supporting drone operations. The system includes a higher-level server, a lower-level server in direct communication with the higher-level server, and a control station in direct communication with the lower-level server. The control station may be configured to: control flight operations of a drone; obtain flight information and location information of the drone; and provide updates on the flight information and location information of the drone to the lower-level server. The lower-level server may be configured to: process flight information and location information received from the control station; and provide updates on the flight information and location information received from the control station to the higher-level server.

[0009] In another aspect, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention relate to a hierarchical system for supporting drone operations. The system includes a higher-level server and a plurality of lower-level servers respectively connected to the higher-level server in direct communication. Each of the plurality of lower-level servers is configured to: receive updates of information flight information and position information about at least one drone controlled by the at least one control station from at least one control station; merge the flight information and position information received from the at least one control station; and provide the merged flight information and position information to the higher-level server.

[0010] On the other hand, an embodiment disclosed in the present invention relates to a method for supporting drone operations, which may include: defining a higher-level server; defining multiple lower-level servers that are directly connected to the higher-level server to form a hierarchical network server; and configuring each of the multiple lower-level servers to receive updates on flight information and location information about at least one drone from at least one control station; merging the flight information and location information received from the at least one control station; and providing the merged flight information and location information to the higher-level server.

[0011] It should be understood that the above overview and the following detailed description are merely exemplary and illustrative of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. The accompanying drawings are incorporated into and constitute a part of the specification, and together with the specification, explain the embodiments of the present invention and illustrate the principles of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] By referring to the following drawings, those skilled in the art may better understand the advantages of the present invention:

[0013] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a first layer of a network cloud-based hierarchical system formed by a ground control station and a regional unmanned aerial system (UAS) server communicating and connecting according to a typical embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a network cloud-based hierarchical system in which multiple regional UAS servers establish communication with a national UAS server according to a typical embodiment of the present invention to form a second layer;

[0015] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a plurality of access points configured to facilitate communication connection with a UAS server according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of providing a comprehensive situational awareness solution based on a network cloud hierarchical system according to a typical embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 5 A block diagram of a hierarchical system in which a ground control station is communicatively connected to a regional UAS server, and a regional UAS server is communicatively connected to a national UAS server according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

[0018] Figure 6 The present invention is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for supporting drone operations according to a typical embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure disclosed herein, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

[0020] It is noted that various systems and methods have been developed for providing situational awareness of unmanned aerial systems (UASs). For example, U.S. Patent No. 8,886,459, entitled "System and method for positioning, tracking and obtaining mission data for a small unmanned aerial system" (incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), discloses an aircraft information server in communication with one or more control stations configured to provide an interface for controlling and tracking UAS operations. Other technologies, such as those disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 792,259, “System and method for real-time data communication and information transfer with operators of small unmanned aerial systems (sUASs), U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 318,569, “Mission planning, coordination and cooperation of unmanned vehicles,” and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 612,273, “Using local, available Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) information to augment local aircraft position information processed by an unmanned aerial vehicle ground control station with other sources of “knowledge” for improved situational awareness,” have been developed to support the use of various communication links and / or protocols to facilitate information sharing and improve situational awareness of UASs.

[0021] According to the embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned system and method are further improved by establishing a network cloud-based hierarchical architecture, which can provide services and comprehensive situational awareness solutions for a large number of users, including UAS operators, air traffic control commanders, national aviation authorities, and other operators, such as national airspace system (NAS) operators, etc. The term "network cloud" refers to a computer infrastructure that can be established and managed through a private or public network. The term "hierarchical system" refers to an implementation that forms a computer infrastructure through different components located at multiple levels. The network cloud-based hierarchical architecture is configured to provide services and situational awareness solutions for the UASs described in the present invention (for the sake of simplicity, it can be referred to as a "C-UAS" system), so the hierarchical architecture can be applicable to operations and service provision at local, regional, national, and international levels.

[0022] Figure 1100 and 104. The ground control station 102 is described as being in communication with a regional UAS server 104, which resides within the C-UAS system 100 and provides the ground control station 102 with local access to the C-UAS system 100. Similar to the ground control station disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 8,886,459, the ground control station 102 can be configured to manage / control the operation of one or more UASs 106. The ground control station 102 can also obtain flight information (e.g., flight status, planned route, etc.) and real-time location information (e.g., geographic location) of the UAS 106. The information obtained by the ground control station 102, including the location information and other situational awareness information of the UAS 106, can be provided to the regional UAS server 104 via periodic updates. It is contemplated that the frequency of the periodic updates is adapted to the bandwidth between the ground control station 102 and the regional UAS server 104. In certain embodiments, the updates can be provided in real time or near real time if the available bandwidth allows.

[0023] It is contemplated that the ground control station 102 may be connected to the regional UAS server 104 via a wired or wireless communication channel, and the available bandwidth may vary according to the embodiment. It is also contemplated that a two-way communication may be established between the ground control station 102 and the regional UAS server 104, so that the ground control station 102 can obtain services provided by the regional UAS server 104 in addition to providing the necessary updates mentioned previously. The services provided by the regional UAS server 104 include, for example, weather report services, traffic alert services, flight plan services, map services, navigation services, and the like. It is further contemplated that although in Figure 1 Only one ground control station 102 is shown, but the same regional UAS server 104 may also be connected to additional ground control stations 102, which do not depart from the scope of the inventive concept of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 2 The description in FIG. 1 illustrates that a plurality of regional UAS servers 104 are connected in communication with a national UAS server 108 to form a second-level hierarchical UAS system 100. Figure 1 In a similar manner to the manner in which each ground control station 102 (as shown in FIG. 1 ) reports to the regional UAS server 104, each regional UAS server 104 updates the national UAS server 108 with the information it obtains from the different ground control stations 102, effectively transferring situational awareness from the regional UAS server 104 to the national UAS server 108. Figure 1Similar to the way in which the ground control station 102 (shown) obtains services from the regional UAS server 104, each regional UAS server 104 can also obtain services from the national UAS server 108, effectively transferring service information from the national UAS server 108 to the regional UAS server 104.

[0025] It should be understood that the use of the terms "regional" and "national" mentioned above only represents different levels in a hierarchical system, and the terms "regional" and "national" are not necessarily limited to specific geographic regions and / or countries. The regional level can be understood as a level lower than the national level. It is envisioned that additional levels can be set between or above them (for example, multiple national UAS servers 108 can be established with one or more global servers), which do not depart from the scope of the inventive concept of the present invention. It is worth noting that in order to simplify the presentation, the lower level server 104 will continue to be referred to as the regional server 104 and the higher level server 108 as the national server 108 in the following description.

[0026] It should be noted that implementing the hierarchical C-UAS system 100 as described above can have many advantages, for example, it is more feasible to establish the required channels between different ground control stations 102 and their regional UAS servers 104 rather than directly establishing the channels on the national UAS server 108. This configuration also avoids the creation of bottlenecks, even if each record must reach a separate national server. In addition, if the national UAS server 108 or the channel established on the national UAS server 108 is not functioning properly, then in order to prevent such an error, the regional UAS server 104 can be selected as a new (or temporary) national UAS server, which can provide the C-UAS system 100 to continue operating. It is worth noting that each regional UAS server 104 is also configured to optimize, merge or compress the situational awareness information received from the ground control station 102 before the information is sent to the national UAS server 108, which can save bandwidth for the regional server 104 and provide privacy protection (if available). Additionally, it is anticipated that the amount of reported data will increase (e.g., with additional sensor applications on the UASs 106), so communicating data from the ground control stations 102 to their regional UAS servers 104 may be more manageable than sending information directly to the national UAS server 108.

[0027] The C-UAS system 100 can also provide different useful location-based services to the ground control station 102 more effectively through the regional UAS server 104. For example, location-based services such as weather reports can be associated with regions with the same weather reports. Weather reports can be quickly delivered from the national UAS server 108 to a specific regional UAS server 104, and the specific regional UAS server 104 can also serve multiple ground control stations 102 in turn, and the data flow from the national UAS server 108 can be optimized. In addition, the operator (or owner) of the regional UAS server 104 can purchase a fixed service from the national UAS server 108 once, and then use the purchased service multiple times to serve multiple UAS operators.

[0028] It is noted that the network cloud-based nature of the C-UAS system 100 also allows for scalability and flexibility in the system, allowing the C-UAS system 100 to grow as the UAS market grows. Additionally, this form of the C-UAS system 100 is configured to allow for efficient regionalized operations, where the regional UAS servers 104 are configured to meet the needs of regionalized operations without impacting the remaining servers of the C-UAS system 100. For example, if a new service is needed in a particular region (e.g., information flows in and out of the network cloud need to be customized in order to use UASs in a particular region), the region can set up its own (or reconfigure an existing) regional UAS server 104 and define information flows in and out of the network cloud to support the new service. Once the regional UAS server 104 is properly configured to provide the new services needed in the region, the regional UAS server 104 can join the network cloud and seamlessly connect with the rest of the C-UAS system 100 functionality without affecting the demand, traffic flow, and / or other service flows of the rest of the C-UAS system 100.

[0029] The C-UAS system 100 may also provide a seamless process for flow and handover between different access points. The term "access point" refers to a device that can establish a connection with a UAS 106 and connect the UAS 106 to a ground control station 102. As the UAS 106 travels through the air, the UAS 106 leaves the area covered by a first access point and enters the area covered by a second access point. The process of transferring the established connection from the first access point to the second access point may be referred to as a handover process. Figure 3 A schematic diagram for describing the handover process between different access points in the same area.

[0030] like Figure 3As shown, a plurality of control and non-payload communication (CNPC) towers 110 are used as access points, and these CNPC towers 110 are connected together through the regional UAS server 104 in the C-UAS system 100, effectively forming a core network, providing the CNPC towers 110 with the required network normal operation capabilities. As the UAS 106 passes through this area, when the regional UAS server 104 (usually with the C-UAS system 100) receives the location and flight information of the UAS 106, the regional UAS server 104 (usually with the C-UAS system 100) can use the location and flight information of the UAS 106 to effectively perform handover processing between different CNPC towers 110.

[0031] It is contemplated that the C-UAS system 100 may also be able to perform handovers across different areas (e.g., to support long-distance flights). Figure 2 As shown in , assuming that a UAS 106A controlled by a ground control station 102 passes through an area supported by a first regional UAS server 104A and enters another area supported by a second regional UAS server 104B, the C-UAS system 100, based on the nature of the network cloud, can allow the first regional UAS server 104A to act as a proxy server (or as a virtual server) for the second regional UAS server 104B. This capability allows the ground control station 102A to maintain control of the UAS 106A without having to worry about handovers across different areas. In other words, the internal processes of the C-UAS system 100 can avoid operators and can be designed to provide timely services (either locally or through proxy services) to ensure that situational awareness data is delivered to the appropriate server, making the C-UAS system 100 a scalable, adaptable, and flexible system.

[0032] The CNPC tower referenced above may be understood as merely a typical example, and various types of communication standards and / or protocols may be used to establish connections between the various components of the C-UAS system 100. For example, satellite links, point-to-multipoint access waveforms other than CNPC, cellular network technologies, and / or Wi-Fi technologies are all within the scope of the inventive concept of the present invention. In fact, in some embodiments, the C-UAS system 100 is configured as an independent network connection type, for example, the interface of the C-UAS system 100 is software-based and therefore not limited to any specific link type, and the link between the UASs 106 and the ground control station 102, the link between the ground control station 102 and the regional UAS server 104, and the link between the regional UAS server 104 and the national UAS server 108 can all be independently established, and they can function seamlessly with other components in the C-UAS system 100.

[0033] It is also contemplated that the C-UAS system 100 of the present invention be configured to interface with systems maintained or managed by national aviation authorities. Figure 4 The C-UAS system 100 is described as being configured to connect to the National Air Traffic Control System (NAS) and other systems maintained or managed by the FAA of the United States. More specifically, a portion of the NAS is an Aircraft Status Display (or ASDI) server 114 for the aviation industry, which is a manned aircraft flight situational awareness information system. By arranging a national UAS server 108 behind a firewall 112 and establishing an interface connection between the national UAS server 108 and the ASDI server 114, situational awareness information can be exchanged between the national UAS server 108 and the ASDI server 114, creating a solution that provides comprehensive situational awareness information for manned aircraft and drones within the United States. It is worth noting that the comprehensive situational awareness information is available to current NAS users / operators 116 and UAS operators / ground control stations 102. It is further contemplated that the national UAS server 108 is configured to connect to other systems 118 maintained or managed by the FAA, all of which do not depart from the scope of the inventive concept of the present invention. It is noted that the various connections disclosed in US Pat. No. 8,886,459 may be used to facilitate communications between the national UAS server 108 and various FAA systems, including the ASDI server 114 and other systems 118 .

[0034] The C-UAS system 100 according to the present invention is provided with a hierarchical network cloud-based architecture with scalability, adaptability, and flexibility, which is necessary for the future use prospects and development of UASs. The C-UAS system 100 can provide effective operational control, service delivery, and management of traffic within the United States, while seamlessly integrating with other situational awareness systems. The C-UAS system 100 allows various types of services to be provided to UAV operators, including some existing services (such as weather reports, traffic alerts, flight plans, maps, navigation, etc.) and some new services specially created for UASs. The cloud structure of the C-UAS system 100 can also achieve intelligent information transmission, and can also support seamless handover processing across regions as described previously.

[0035] In addition, the information available to the C-UAS system 100 may also be used for analytical purposes. For example, data mining and analysis may be performed as part of the C-UAS system 100 to analyze information at the regional level and the national level. An example of such an analysis is a "detection and avoidance" analysis, which may be used to generate "detection and avoidance" information from real-time data analysis of the location and flight paths of unmanned and manned aircraft. Similarly, data mining and analysis may be used at the regional level and / or the national level without departing from the scope of the inventive concept of the present invention. Other data mining and analysis may also be performed as part of the C-UAS system 100 without departing from the scope of the inventive concept of the present invention or sacrificing all material technical advantages.

[0036] It is contemplated that each ground control station 102, regional UAS server 104, and national UAS server 108 in the C-UAS system 100 is provided with one or more processors (e.g., specialized processing units, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or various other types of processors or processing units) plus a non-volatile processor-readable medium for storing processor-executable code, configured to facilitate the processor to perform its intended functions. For example, in Figure 5 In the embodiment, the ground control station 102 includes one or more processors 120 configured to provide flight control for one or more UASs, and the one or more processors 120 are also configured to facilitate the collection of flight and position information from the UASs. The ground control station 102 also includes a communication module 122 that can facilitate communication between the ground control station 102 and the regional UAS server 104.

[0037] The regional UAS server 104 also includes one or more processors 126. The one or more processors 126 on the regional UAS server 104 can collect information provided by different ground control stations 102, process the collected information, and transmit the processed (e.g., merged) information to the national UAS server 108 as previously described. Similarly, the national UAS server 108 also includes one or more processors 132 to collect and process information received from different regional UAS servers 104. It is noted that the regional UAS server 104 and the national UAS server 108 can each include a communication module 128 and 134, respectively, to facilitate communication within the C-UAS system 100.

[0038] It is also contemplated that the one or more processors 120, 126, and 132 on the regional UAS server 104 and the national UAS server 108, as previously described, are further configured to provide various services to the ground control station 102, including weather reports, traffic alerts, map services, and the like. It is further contemplated that the one or more processors 120, 126, and 132 on the ground control station 102, the regional UAS server 104, and the national UAS server 108 are communicatively coupled to one or more data storage devices 124, 130, and 136, respectively. These data storage devices 124, 130, and 136 are used as permanent processor-readable media that can be used to store processor-executable code and / or data. Certain types of data can be written as logs, records, or reports that can be used for various purposes, including data mining and analysis.

[0039] exist Figure 6 A flowchart of an embodiment of a method 600 for supporting drone operations is described in FIG. With reference to the previous description, a national UAS server, which may also be considered as a higher level server, is defined in step 602. A plurality of regional UAS servers, which may also be considered as lower level servers, are defined in step 604. The higher level server and the lower level server together form a hierarchical network of servers which may be considered as C-UAS.

[0040] According to the above description, in step 606, each lower-level server is configured to receive updates (such as periodic, real-time or near real-time) from one or more control stations. The updates provided by these control stations include information about the flight data and position data of one or more drones controlled by these control stations. Each lower-level server in turn merges the flight information and position information received from the control station, and updates (such as periodic, real-time or near real-time) the higher-level server with the collected and processed merged flight information and position information.

[0041] It is contemplated that data flows in C-UAS are not limited to providing updates from lower-level servers to higher-level servers. Servers in C-UAS can be understood as using a network to transmit data, and as the server transmits data, it communicates with other servers at higher, lower, or the same level in the hierarchical structure. For example, a higher-level server transmits data downward to one or more lower-level servers to help better manage some situations. Handover processing across different regions is a typical example, in which a higher-level server transmits data to one or more lower-level servers to help better provide proxy services for lower-level servers commanded by different regions. These lower-level servers can also exchange data with each other without (or minimal) intervention from the higher-level server. In another example, a higher-level server transmits data to one or more lower-level servers and allows these lower-level servers to pre-fetch data to improve efficiency. Likewise, a higher-level server sends instructions to one or more lower-level servers to reserve or obtain a certain amount of bandwidth to ensure proper communication within the C-UAS. This is particularly important if the higher-level server needs to establish real-time communication with one or more lower-level servers, or if the higher-level server needs to increase bandwidth consumption to support specific operations, such as video streaming, monitoring, or other similar operations.

[0042] It is contemplated that a higher level server may also communicate instructions to different UASs through one or more lower level servers. For example, if it is determined (e.g., by a national aviation authority) that all UASs in a particular area (or all areas) must temporarily stop flying, this command is issued from the higher level server to all lower level servers within the particular area (or all areas), which then in turn communicate the command to all UASs. It is understood that other forms of data and instructions can be exchanged with various other servers in the C-UAS in the same manner, all without departing from the scope of the inventive concept of the present invention.

[0043] According to the above description, in step 606, for manned aircraft (for example, provided by the FAA), the higher-level server is configured to connect to the situational awareness information system of the manned aircraft to jointly provide a comprehensive situational awareness information system for manned aircraft and unmanned aircraft. It can be expected that in step 610, the server (including the higher-level server and one or more lower-level servers) is configured to provide a variety of other services and functions as described above, for example, one or more servers in the server hierarchical network can provide data mining analysis, service delivery, and also support the agent (virtual) service mentioned above.

[0044] The embodiments of the inventive concept disclosed by the present invention are not limited to any potential implementation technology. The inventive concept disclosed by the present invention can be implemented using any combination of software, firmware and hardware technology, and can use various technologies without departing from the scope of the inventive concept disclosed by the present invention or sacrificing all material technical advantages.

[0045] It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the disclosed process is an example of an exemplary method. It is also to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the process can be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the inventive concepts disclosed herein. The supplementary method requires the existing elements of each step in the sample sequence and is not meant to be limited to a specific order or hierarchy.

[0046] It is believed that the inventive concept of the invention disclosed herein and many of the attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in form, construction, and arrangement of components without departing from the scope of the inventive concept of the invention or sacrificing all material technical advantages. Prior to this, only an illustrative embodiment has been described, and it is the intention of the claims that follow to include such changes.

Claims

1. A layered system for supporting drone operations, the system comprising: Higher level servers; a lower level server in direct communication with the higher level server; and a control station in direct communication with said lower level servers, wherein the control station is configured to: Control the flight operations of the drone; Obtaining flight information and location information of the drone; and providing updates regarding the flight information and location information of the drone to the lower level server; Wherein the lower level server is configured to: processing the flight information and position information received from the control station; and providing updates on the flight information and position information received from the control station to the higher level server, wherein the lower level server is a first lower level server, and wherein the system further comprises at least one additional lower level server, wherein the higher level servers are configured to facilitate communication between lower level servers to form a server network for sharing flight information and location information, wherein the higher level server is further configured to establish an interface with a situational awareness information system of a manned aircraft, the higher level server and the situational awareness information system jointly providing a comprehensive situational awareness information system for both manned aircraft and unmanned aircraft, where comprehensive situational awareness information is available to the control station, and The server network enables a first lower level server to act as a proxy server or virtual server for at least one additional lower level server during a handover process when the drone travels from a geographic area served by the first lower level server to a geographic area served by at least one additional lower level server, thereby enabling a control station to maintain control during the handover.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the drone is a first drone and the control station is a first control station, and wherein the system further comprises at least one additional control station in direct communication with the lower-level server, wherein the at least one additional control station is configured to: controlling the flight operations of the second UAV; Obtaining flight information and location information of the second UAV; and Providing periodic updates about the flight information and location information of the second drone to the lower level server.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the lower level server is further configured to merge the flight information and position information about the first drone provided by the first control station and the flight information and position information about the second drone provided by the second control station before providing the periodic update to the higher level server.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the lower level server is configured to provide services to the control station, and wherein the services include at least one of: a weather reporting service, a traffic alert service, a flight planning service, a mapping service, and a navigation service.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the lower level server is further configured to request the higher level server to provide the service.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first lower level server, the at least one additional lower level server, and the higher level server is configured to analyze real-time data of the positions and flight trajectories of the UAVs and manned aircraft provided by the integrated situational awareness information system.

7. A layered system for supporting drone operations, the system comprising: Higher level servers; and a plurality of lower level servers in direct communication with said higher level server, wherein each of the plurality of lower level servers is configured to: receiving updates from at least one control station regarding flight information and position information of at least one unmanned aerial vehicle controlled by the at least one control station; combining the flight information and position information received from the at least one control station; as well as providing the combined flight information and position information to the higher level server, wherein the higher level server is configured to facilitate communication between a plurality of lower level servers to form a server network for sharing flight information and location information, wherein the higher level server is further configured to establish an interface with a situational awareness information system of a manned aircraft, the higher level server and the situational awareness information system jointly providing a comprehensive situational awareness information system for both manned aircraft and unmanned aircraft, where comprehensive situational awareness information is available to the control station, and The server network enables a first lower level server to act as a proxy server or virtual server for at least one additional lower level server during a handover process when the drone travels from a geographic area served by the first lower level server to a geographic area served by at least one additional lower level server, thereby enabling a control station to maintain control during the handover.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein each lower level server is further configured to provide services to at least one control station upon receiving a service request from at least one control station, and wherein the services include at least one of: weather reporting services, traffic alert services, flight planning services, map services, and navigation services.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein each lower level server is further configured to request service from the higher level server.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the higher level server is configured to provide the requested service to a particular lower level server, and the particular lower level server is configured to serve a plurality of control stations in communication with the particular lower level server.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the higher level server is configured to facilitate communications between a plurality of lower level servers, thereby forming a server network that shares flight information and location information received by each of the plurality of lower level servers.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the higher level server and at least one of the plurality of lower level servers are configured to analyze real-time data of the positions and flight trajectories of the UAVs and manned aircraft provided by the integrated situational awareness information system.

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