Technology for identifying aircraft in mobile networks

Abstract

Some aspects described herein relate to supplying an aircraft with an identifier, certificate, or other credential for communication over a mobile network. A UAV may transmit a request to register with the mobile network, wherein the request includes at least a hardware identifier of the UAV. The UAV may receive a response to the request from a component of the mobile network, wherein the response includes a unique UAV identifier generated by at least one of the component of the mobile network or an unmanned aircraft system service provider (USS), a UAV certificate, and a network certificate.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

[0002] This patent application claims priority to provisional patent application No. 62 / 957,784, filed on January 6, 2020, entitled “TECHNIQUES FOR IDENTIFYING AERIAL VEHICLES IN MOBILE NETWORKS,” and U.S. patent application No. 17 / 141,051, filed on January 4, 2021, entitled “TECHNIQUES FOR IDENTIFYING AERIAL VEHICLES IN MOBILE NETWORKS,” both of which are assigned to the assignee of this application and are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

[0003] background

[0004] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to wireless communication regarding aircraft.

[0005] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, and single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems.

[0006] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide common protocols that enable different wireless devices to communicate at city, country, region, and even global levels. For example, the fifth generation (5G) wireless communication technology, which may be referred to as 5G New Radio (5G NR), is designed to expand and support diverse usage scenarios and applications relative to current mobile network generations. On the one hand, 5G communication technology may include: enhanced mobile broadband for people-centric use cases for accessing multimedia content, services, and data; ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) with certain specifications on latency and reliability; and massive machine type communication, which may allow a very large number of connected devices and the transmission of relatively small amounts of non-delay sensitive information. However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues to grow, further improvements to 5G communication technology and beyond 5G technology may be expected.

[0007] Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as drones are also being used and developed. Different approaches have been proposed to manage UAV traffic in airspace, and these approaches may be region-specific (e.g., specific to a country). In some approaches, a UAV may broadcast a remote identifier (RID), which may include information such as an aircraft identifier (e.g., a serial number, an identifier assigned by a civil aviation authority, etc.), location information, an operator identifier, etc.

[0008] Overview

[0009] A brief summary of one or more aspects is given below to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of all conceived aspects, and is neither intended to identify the key or critical elements of all aspects nor to define the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description that will be presented later.

[0010] According to an example, a method for registering an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a mobile network includes transmitting, by the UAV, a request to register with the mobile network, wherein the request includes at least a hardware identifier of the UAV; and receiving a response to the request from a component of the mobile network, wherein the response includes a unique UAV identifier generated by at least one of the component of the mobile network or an unmanned aircraft system service provider (USS), a UAV certificate, and a network certificate.

[0011] In another example, a method for registering a UAV in a mobile network is provided. The method includes receiving a request from the UAV to register with the mobile network, wherein the request includes at least a hardware identifier of the UAV; and transmitting a response to the request to the UAV, wherein the response includes a unique UAV identifier, a UAV certificate, and a network certificate.

[0012] In a further example, a device for wireless communication is provided, the device comprising a memory configured to store instructions, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory. The one or more processors are configured to execute instructions to perform the operations of the methods and examples described above and further herein. On the other hand, a device for wireless communication is provided, the device comprising a device for performing the operations of the methods and examples described above and further herein. On the other hand, a computer-readable medium is provided, the computer-readable medium comprising code that can be executed by one or more processors to perform the operations of the methods and examples described above and further herein.

[0013] For example, an apparatus for registering a UAV in a mobile network is provided, the apparatus comprising a memory configured to store instructions; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory. The one or more processors are configured to: transmit a request to register with the mobile network, wherein the request includes at least a hardware identifier of the UAV; and receive a response to the request from a component of the mobile network, wherein the response includes a unique UAV identifier generated by at least one of the component of the mobile network or a USS, a UAV certificate, and a network certificate.

[0014] In another example, an apparatus for registering a UAV in a mobile network is provided, the apparatus comprising a memory configured to store instructions; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory. The one or more processors are configured to: receive a request from the UAV to register with the mobile network, wherein the request includes at least a hardware identifier of the UAV; and transmit a response to the request to the UAV, wherein the response includes a unique UAV identifier, a UAV certificate, and a network certificate.

[0015] To achieve the foregoing and related ends, the one or more aspects include the features fully described below and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. However, these features are merely indicative of several of the various ways in which the principles of the various aspects may be employed, and this description is intended to cover all such aspects and their equivalents. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The disclosed aspects will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are provided to illustrate rather than limit the disclosed aspects, wherein like reference numerals designate like elements, and wherein:

[0018] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0019] Figure 2 An example of a wireless communication system that facilitates communication with an unmanned aerial vehicle system in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0020] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a UE according to various aspects of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight and control function (UFCF) according to aspects of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 5is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method for obtaining and using mobile network credentials in UAV communications in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure;

[0023] Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method for provisioning mobile network credentials to a UAV in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure;

[0024] Figure 7A-7B A system illustrating various network components and associated identities and security credentials in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure;

[0025] Figures 8A-8B A system for UAV identity registration and assignment based on UAV guidance in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0026] Fig. 9 A system for UAV identity registration and assignment based on HW UAV information in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0027] Fig.10 A system for MNO-based secure bootstrapping where UAV identity registration and assignment is based on UAV bootstrapping in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0028] Figures 11A-11B A system for UAV identity registration and assignment based on detection of the UAV being located in a different country in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0029] Fig.12 A system for using UAV identities and credentials according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0030] Fig.13 A system for using UAV identities and credentials when roaming in different countries according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated; and

[0031] Fig.14 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a MIMO communication system including a base station and UEs according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0032] Detailed Description

[0033] Now, various aspects are described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, for the purpose of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects. However, it is apparent that such aspects can be practiced without these specific details.

[0034] The features described generally relate to providing an aircraft with an identity and / or credentials in a mobile network. For example, an aircraft may include a mobile network subscription and may use the mobile network to communicate certain information, such as identity, flight information, etc., to other devices, network nodes in the mobile network, or other networks, etc. In one example, the aircraft may be equipped with user equipment (UE) functionality or associated hardware to facilitate communication in the mobile network. In addition, as further described herein, the aircraft may be provisioned on the mobile network with one or more identifiers, certificates, security keys, etc. to allow verification or authentication of communications from / to the aircraft via the mobile network. For example, the aircraft may register with a component of the mobile network, which may also communicate with a component of the aircraft network. For example, such a component of the mobile network may facilitate identifier generation, certificate generation, etc., to provide the aircraft with an identifier, certificate, etc. The aircraft may use the identifier, certificate, etc. in subsequent communications, where the communications may include communications with an aviation network via the mobile network or otherwise, direct communications with other aircraft (e.g., with or without traversing the network), etc. to authenticate the communications.

[0035] In a particular example, the aircraft may include an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which may include an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and / or a corresponding operator. In this example, the mobile network may include a UAV flight control function (UFCF), for example, via a node providing the UFCF, which may interface with components of the aeronautical network (such as a UAS service provider (USS)) to facilitate communication between the UAV and the aeronautical network via the mobile network. In this example, the UFCF may generate or provide an identifier, certificate, etc. to the UAV to facilitate protection, authentication, etc. of communications from the UAV to the aeronautical network and / or with each other.

[0036] The following will refer to Figure 1-14 The described features are presented in more detail.

[0037] As used in this application, the terms "component", "module", "system" and similar terms are intended to include computer-related entities, such as but not limited to hardware, software, a combination of hardware and software, or software in execution. For example, a component can be, but not limited to, a process, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and / or a computer running on a processor. As an illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be a component. One or more components may reside in a process and / or a thread of execution, and a component may be localized on a computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can be executed from various computer-readable media on which various data structures are stored. These components can communicate by means of local and / or remote processes, such as according to a signal having one or more data packets, such as data from a component that interacts with another component in a local system, a distributed system, and / or interacts with other systems across a network such as the Internet. Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subroutines, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

[0038] The technology described herein can be used for various wireless communication systems, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" are usually used interchangeably. A CDMA system can implement radio technologies such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA). CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. IS-2000 versions 0 and A are commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1X, 1X, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856) is commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. A TDMA system can implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). OFDMA systems can implement technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM TMRadio technologies such as UTRA and E-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Advanced LTE (LTE-A) are new UMTS versions that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from an organization called the "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization called the "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). The techniques described herein can be used for the systems and radio technologies mentioned above as well as for other systems and radio technologies, including cellular (e.g., LTE) communications on shared radio frequency spectrum bands. However, the following description describes an LTE / LTE-A system for example purposes, and LTE terminology is used in most of the following descriptions, but these techniques can also be applied to applications other than LTE / LTE-A (e.g., to fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) networks or other next generation communication systems).

[0039] The following description provides examples and does not limit the scope, applicability, or examples set forth in the claims. Changes may be made to the functions and arrangements of the elements discussed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Various examples may appropriately omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components. For example, the described methods may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, features described with reference to some examples may be combined in other examples.

[0040] Various aspects or features will be presented in the form of systems that may include a number of devices, components, modules, and the like, etc. It should be understood and appreciated that the various systems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc., and / or may not include all of the devices, components, modules, etc. discussed in conjunction with the figures. Combinations of these approaches may also be used.

[0041] Figure 1 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and access network 100 (e.g., a mobile network). The wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include a base station 102, a UE 104, an evolved packet core (EPC) 160, and / or a 5G core (5GC) 190. The base station 102 may include a macro cell (a high-power cellular base station) and / or a small cell (a low-power cellular base station). The macro cell may include a base station. The small cell may include a femto cell, a pico cell, and a micro cell. In an example, the base station 102 may also include a gNB 180, as further described herein.

[0042] The base station 102 configured for 4G LTE (which may be collectively referred to as the Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) may interface with the EPC 160 via a backhaul link 132 (e.g., using an S1 interface). The base station 102 configured for 5G NR (which may be collectively referred to as the Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) may interface with the 5GC 190 via a backhaul link 184. The base station 102 may perform, among other functions, one or more of the following functions: delivery of user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio access network (RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of alert messages. Base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through EPC 160 or 5GC 190) over backhaul link 134 (e.g., using an X2 interface). Backhaul link 134 may be wired or wireless.

[0043] The base station 102 may communicate wirelessly with one or more UEs 104. Each base station 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage area 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A network including both small cells and macro cells may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home evolved Node B (eNB) (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group (which may be referred to as a closed subscriber group (CSG)). The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include an uplink (UL) (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or a downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. These communication links may be through one or more carriers. For each carrier allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to Yx MHz (e.g., for x component carriers) for transmission in the DL and / or UL direction, the base station 102 / UE 104 may use a spectrum of up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400 MHz, etc.) bandwidth. These carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to DL compared to UL). The component carrier may include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. The primary component carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell), and the secondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell).

[0044] In another example, some UEs may communicate with each other using a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use DL / UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). The D2D communication may be through a variety of wireless D2D communication systems, such as, for example, FlashLinQ, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

[0045] The wireless communication system may further include a Wi-Fi access point (AP) 150 communicating with a Wi-Fi station (STA) 152 in the 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum via a communication link 154. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the STA 152 / AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) to determine whether the channel is available prior to communication.

[0046] The small cell 102' may operate in a licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed spectrum, the small cell 102' may employ NR and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum as used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. The small cell 102' employing NR in the unlicensed spectrum may boost the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network.

[0047] Whether a small cell 102' or a large cell (e.g., a macro base station), the base station 102 may include an eNB, a gB node (gNB), or other types of base stations. Some base stations (such as gNB 180) may operate in traditional sub-6 GHz spectrum, millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies, and / or near mmW frequencies to communicate with UE 104. When gNB 180 operates in mmW or near mmW frequencies, gNB 180 may be referred to as a mmW base station. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and a wavelength between 1 mm and 10 mm. The radio waves in this band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near mmW can be extended down to 3 GHz frequencies with a wavelength of 100 mm. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3 GHz and 30 GHz, which is also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near mmW radio frequency bands have extremely high path loss and short range. The mmW base station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 with the UE 104 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. The base station 102 referred to herein may include a gNB 180.

[0048] The EPC 160 may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a serving gateway 166, a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) gateway 168, a broadcast multicast service center (BM-SC) 170, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway 172. The MME 162 may be in communication with a home subscriber server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the EPC 160. In general, the MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through the serving gateway 166, which itself is connected to the PDN gateway 172. The PDN gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. The PDN gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 are connected to IP services 176. The IP services 176 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), a PS streaming service, and / or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may provide functionality for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may serve as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmissions, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services within a public land mobile network (PLMN), and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMS gateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS traffic to base stations 102 belonging to a multicast broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) area that broadcasts a specific service, and may be responsible for session management (start / stop) and for collecting eMBMS-related charging information.

[0049] 5GC 190 may include access and mobility management function (AMF) 192, other AMF 193, session management function (SMF) 194, and user plane function (UPF) 195. AMF 192 may be in communication with unified data management (UDM) 196. AMF 192 may be a control node that processes signaling between UE 104 and 5GC 190. In general, AMF 192 may provide quality of service (QoS) flow and session management. User Internet Protocol (IP) packets (e.g., from one or more UEs 104) may be delivered via UPF 195. UPF 195 may provide UE IP address allocation for one or more UEs and other functions. UPF 195 is connected to IP service 197. IP service 197 may include the Internet, intranet, IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), PS streaming service, and / or other IP services.

[0050] A base station may also be referred to as a gNB, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), an access point, a base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), a transmit reception point (TRP), or some other suitable term. Base station 102 provides an access point for UE 104 to EPC 160 or 5GC 190. Examples of UE 104 include cellular phones, smart phones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), satellite radios, positioning systems (e.g., satellite, terrestrial), multimedia devices, video devices, digital audio players (e.g., MP3 players), cameras, game consoles, tablet devices, smart devices, robots, drones, industrial / manufacturing equipment, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart clothing, smart glasses, virtual reality eyepieces, smart wristbands, smart jewelry (e.g., smart rings, smart bracelets)), vehicles / vehicle equipment, meters (e.g., parking meters, electricity meters, gas meters, water meters, flow meters), gas pumps, large or small kitchen appliances, medical / health care equipment, implants, sensors / actuators, displays, or any other similarly functional devices. Some UE 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., meters, gas pumps, monitors, cameras, industrial / manufacturing equipment, appliances, vehicles, robots, drones, etc.). IoT UEs may include machine type communication (MTC) / enhanced MTC (eMTC, also known as Category (CAT)-M, Cat M1) UEs, NB-IoT (also known as CAT NB1) UEs, and other types of UEs. In the present disclosure, eMTC and NB-IoT may refer to future technologies that may evolve from or be based on these technologies. For example, eMTC may include FeMTC (further eMTC), eFeMTC (further enhanced eMTC), mMTC (massive MTC), etc., and NB-IoT may include eNB-IoT (enhanced NB-IoT), FeNB-IoT (further enhanced NB-IoT), etc. UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology.

[0051] In one example, the term UE (e.g., or UE104) as used herein may refer to or include a UAV or may be part of a UAV, for example, as hardware on the UAV or as functionality provided by the UAV, as further described herein.

[0052] Figure 2An example of a mobile network 200 for facilitating communication between multiple UASs, between UASs and one or more aviation network (e.g., UAS network) components, etc. is illustrated. For example, a UAS may include a UAV controller (UAVc), such as an unequipped / unnetworked UAVc 206 or an equipped / networked UAVc 208, and one or more UAVs 202. The UAVs 202 may be communicatively connected or coupled to each other via a cellular connection (e.g., via a mobile network, as described). In one example, the UAVs 202 may be controlled by a UAV controller connected via a mobile network (e.g., a 3GPP mobile network 212). In another example, the UAVs 202 may be controlled by a UAV controller that is not connected via a 3GPP mobile network 212 (e.g., using a C2 interface or another interface between the controller and the UAV). In one example, the UAV controllers 206, 208 connected via a 3GPP mobile network 212 may control one or more UAVs. For example, UAV 202 may exchange application data traffic with USS 210, which may be provided via a UAV traffic management (UTM) 214 component. In addition, for example, UAV 202 may communicate with other UAVs using a UAV-2-UAV (U2U) interface, where the communication may include or otherwise correspond to a broadcast remote ID. In another example, UAV 202 may communicate with a ground control system (GCS) using a UAV-2-GCS (U2G) interface. The U2G interface may include one or more of the following: (1) C2, where the GCS is a non-networked UAVc (shown as USG3) or a networked UAVc (shown as USG1 / USG2), or (2) U2U, where the GCS monitors the drone U2U to collect information. Direct U2G may correspond to C2, where the GCS is a non-networked UAVc or U2U, where the GCS monitors the drone U2U to collect information for identification. As described above, the UFCF 204 may be a UAV flight control function in a mobile network, which may be an MNO-operated aviation function (AF) provided on a node of a mobile network operator (MNO) network. In addition, for example, some MNOs may provide the UFCF 204 functionality as a USS-to-UAV operation supported by the MNO. Other UAV fleets may be controlled by a dedicated USS 210. There may be multiple USSs 210 in a country. The "identity" assigned to the UAV to operate in a country may be unique in that country, as further described herein.

[0053] In addition, the UAV 202 and / or corresponding UE 104 or UE 104 functionality may include a communication component 342 for facilitating provisioning of the UAV 202 in a mobile network to receive an identifier, a certificate, etc. to protect and / or authenticate communications with other UAVs and / or avionic network components via the mobile network. In addition, the UFCF 204 may include a configuration component 442 for configuring the UAV 202 with an identifier, a certificate, etc. to communicate with other UAVs and / or with avionic network components via the mobile network.

[0054] Now go to Figure 3-14 , various aspects are described with reference to one or more components and one or more methods that can perform the actions or operations described herein, where various aspects in dashed lines may be optional. Figure 5-13 The operations described in the description are presented in a particular order and / or are presented as being performed by example components, but it should be understood that the order of these actions and the components performing the actions may vary depending on the implementation. Moreover, it should be understood that the following actions, functions, and / or components described may be performed by a specially programmed processor, a processor executing specially programmed software or computer-readable media, or by any other combination of hardware components and / or software components capable of performing the described actions or functions.

[0055] refer to Figure 3 , an example of an implementation of the UE 104 may include various components, some of which have been described above and are further described herein, including components such as one or more processors 312 and memory 316 in communication via one or more buses 344 and a transceiver 302, which may operate in conjunction with a modem 340 and / or a communication component 342 to register with a mobile network to receive an identifier, a certificate, etc., for communication with other UEs or network components, as described herein. In addition, as described, the UE 104 may be incorporated into, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to or used by the UAV 202 to communicate with other UAVs, with aviation network components, etc. via a mobile network. In an example, the functionality described herein with respect to the UE 104 may be provided by or for the UAV 202 using the incorporated UE 104 or UE 104 functionality. In addition, for example, some of the hardware components of the UE 104 may be hardware components of the UAV 202 (e.g., for operating other functionality of the UAV 202). For example, as described herein, the UE 104 of the UAV 202 may be configured to communicate with the base station 102 of the RAN to access a mobile network, or to communicate directly with other UAVs (e.g., other UEs of other UAVs), etc.

[0056] In one aspect, the one or more processors 312 may include the modem 340 and / or may be part of the modem 340 using one or more modem processors. Thus, various functions associated with the communication component 342 may be included in the modem 340 and / or the processor 312, and in one aspect, may be performed by a single processor, while in other aspects, different ones of these functions may be performed by a combination of two or more different processors. For example, in one aspect, the one or more processors 312 may include any one or any combination of the following: a modem processor, or a baseband processor, or a digital signal processor, or a transmit processor, or a receiver processor, or a transceiver processor associated with the transceiver 302. In other aspects, some of the features of the one or more processors 312 and / or the modem 340 associated with the communication component 342 may be performed by the transceiver 302.

[0057] In addition, the memory 316 can be configured to store local versions of data and / or applications 375 used herein, or the communication component 342 and / or one or more subcomponents thereof executed by the at least one processor 312. The memory 316 may include any type of computer-readable medium usable by a computer or the at least one processor 312, such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a tape, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, and any combination thereof. In one aspect, for example, when the UE 104 is operating the at least one processor 312 to execute the communication component 342 and / or one or more subcomponents thereof, the memory 316 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more computer-executable codes defining the communication component 342 and / or one or more subcomponents thereof and / or data associated therewith.

[0058] The transceiver 302 may include at least one receiver 306 and at least one transmitter 308. The receiver 306 may include hardware for receiving data, and / or software code executable by a processor, the code including instructions and stored in a memory (e.g., a computer-readable medium). The receiver 306 may be, for example, a radio frequency (RF) receiver. In one aspect, the receiver 306 may receive signals transmitted by at least one base station 102. In addition, the receiver 306 may process such received signals and may also obtain measurements of the signals, such as, but not limited to, Ec / Io, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), and the like. The transmitter 308 may include hardware and / or software executable by a processor for transmitting data, the code including instructions and stored in a memory (e.g., a computer-readable medium). Suitable examples of the transmitter 308 may include, but are not limited to, an RF transmitter.

[0059] Also, in an aspect, the UE 104 may include an RF front end 388 that may operate in communication with the one or more antennas 365 and the transceiver 302 for receiving and transmitting radio transmissions, such as wireless communications transmitted by at least one base station 102 or wireless transmissions transmitted by the UE 104. The RF front end 388 may be connected to the one or more antennas 365 and may include one or more low noise amplifiers (LNAs) 390, one or more switches 392, one or more power amplifiers (PAs) 398, and one or more filters 396 for transmitting and receiving RF signals.

[0060] In one aspect, the LNA 390 can amplify the received signal to a desired output level. In one aspect, each LNA 390 can have a specified minimum and maximum gain value. In one aspect, the RF front end 388 can use one or more switches 392 to select a particular LNA 390 and its specified gain value based on the desired gain value for a particular application.

[0061] In addition, for example, one or more PAs 398 can be used by the RF front end 388 to amplify the signal to obtain an RF output at a desired output power level. In one aspect, each PA 398 can have a specified minimum and maximum gain value. In one aspect, the RF front end 388 can use one or more switches 392 to select a particular PA 398 and its specified gain value based on the desired gain value for a particular application.

[0062] In addition, for example, one or more filters 396 can be used by the RF front end 388 to filter the received signal to obtain the input RF signal. Similarly, in one aspect, for example, a corresponding filter 396 can be used to filter the output from the corresponding PA 398 to produce an output signal for transmission. In one aspect, each filter 396 can be connected to a specific LNA 390 and / or PA 398. In one aspect, the RF front end 388 can use one or more switches 392 to select a transmit or receive path using a specified filter 396, LNA 390, and / or PA 398 based on the configuration as specified by the transceiver 302 and / or the processor 312.

[0063] As such, the transceiver 302 can be configured to transmit and receive wireless signals through one or more antennas 365 via the RF front end 388. In an aspect, the transceiver can be tuned to operate at a specified frequency so that the UE 104 can communicate, for example, with one or more base stations 102 or one or more cells associated with the one or more base stations 102. In an aspect, the modem 340 can configure the transceiver 302 to operate at a specified frequency and power level based on, for example, a UE configuration of the UE 104 and a communication protocol used by the modem 340.

[0064] In one aspect, the modem 340 can be a multi-band-multi-mode modem that can process digital data and communicate with the transceiver 302 so that the digital data is sent and received using the transceiver 302. In one aspect, the modem 340 can be multi-band and configured to support multiple frequency bands for a specific communication protocol. In one aspect, the modem 340 can be multi-mode and configured to support multiple operating networks and communication protocols. In one aspect, the modem 340 can control one or more components (e.g., RF front end 388, transceiver 302) of the UE 104 to achieve transmission and / or reception of signals from the network based on a specified modem configuration. In one aspect, the modem configuration can be based on the mode of the modem and the frequency band used. In another aspect, the modem configuration can be based on UE configuration information associated with the UE 104, such as provided by the network during cell selection and / or cell reselection.

[0065] In an aspect, the communication component 342 may optionally include a registration component 352 for registering with a mobile network, and / or a protection component 354 for protecting communications with other UEs (e.g., UEs of other UAVs) or network components based on the registration, as described herein.

[0066] In one aspect, processor(s) 312 may correspond to a combination of Fig.14 Similarly, the memory 316 may correspond to one or more of the processors described in conjunction with the UE. Fig.14 The memory described by the UE in.

[0067] Reference Figure 4 , one example of an implementation of the UFCF 204 may include various components, some of which have been described above, but include components such as one or more processors 412 and memory 416 communicating via one or more buses 444, which may operate in conjunction with a network interface 440 and a configuration component 442 for configuring the UAV with security information (such as one or more identifiers, certificates, etc.) for communicating with other UAVs and / or avionic network components, as described herein. For example, the UFCF 204 may communicate with other components of a mobile network or avionic network (e.g., a USS) via the network interface 440.

[0068] In one aspect, the configuration component 442 may optionally include a registration request component 452 for requesting registration of the UAV or one or more related identifiers with a USS or other aviation network component, and / or a security information component 454 for generating one or more identifiers, certificates, etc. for use by the UAV when communicating with other UAVs or aviation network components, as described herein.

[0069] Figure 5 A flow chart illustrating an example of a method 500 for provisioning and using security information to a mobile network. In one example, a UE or UE functionality that may include UAV 202 (e.g., UE 104) may use Figure 2 and Figure 3 One or more of the components described in the method 500 may be used to perform the functions described in the method 500.

[0070] In method 500, at block 502, a request to register with a mobile network may be transmitted. In one aspect, a registration component 352 (e.g., in combination with processor(s) 312, memory 316, transceiver 302, communication component 342, etc.) may transmit a request to register with a mobile network. For example, the registration component 352 may transmit the request to a mobile network component, such as a UFCF. In addition, the communication component 342 may transmit the request to the mobile network component via communication with a base station 102, which may be part of a RAN that provides access to a mobile network. For example, the registration component 352 may transmit the request to the mobile network component based on detecting one or more triggers or events associated with performing registration. Such triggers or events may include powering on a UE 104 or UE function 104 of a UAV, detecting the presence of a mobile network by monitoring certain signals from a base station or other nodes of the mobile network, and the like.

[0071] In one example, the registration component 352 may generate a request including a hardware identifier of the associated UAV, which may be signed by a hardware UAV certificate issued by the manufacturer of the UAV or a certificate of the manufacturer of the UAV. The request may also indicate the operator of the UAV, the pilot of the UAV, etc. using the associated identifier and / or other information that may be relevant to determining whether the UAV is allowed to communicate via a mobile network. The request may be protected using a private key associated with the hardware UAV certificate issued by the manufacturer of the UAV or the certificate of the manufacturer of the UAV.

[0072] In one example, in the method 500, optionally, at block 504, a condition for requesting registration with a mobile network may be detected. In one aspect, the registration component 352 (e.g., in combination with the processor(s) 312, the memory 316, the transceiver 302, the communication component 342, etc.) may detect a condition for requesting registration with a mobile network. For example, the condition may involve determining that the UE 104 / UAV 202 does not have stored credentials for accessing the mobile network. In another example, the condition may involve determining that the UE 104 / UAV 202 is in a geographic area outside of a home geographic area associated with the UE 104 / UAV 202 (e.g., in another country). In another example, the condition may involve an event or command received from an operator or pilot of the UAV 202 (e.g., via an interface of the UAV 202), etc. In other examples, as described above, the condition may involve the UAV 202 or associated UE 104 or UE 104 functionality being powered up, detecting a signal from a base station or other mobile network component.

[0073] In one example, in method 500, optionally, at block 506, connectivity via a mobile network may be established to perform registration, wherein the network allows limited connectivity to support registration procedures. In one aspect, registration component 352 (e.g., in combination with processor(s) 312, memory 316, transceiver 302, communication component 342, etc.) may establish connectivity via a mobile network to perform registration (e.g., using a specific data network name or access point name), wherein the network allows limited connectivity to support registration procedures. For example, registration component 352 may connect to an MNO for UAV provisioning, and the network may allow limited connectivity to support registration procedures (e.g., connectivity may be allowed only to the UFCF). In this example, the registration component 352 can specify a specific access point name (APN) / data network name (DNN) in a registration request, in a request to establish connectivity, or in other communications after connectivity is established, or can communicate via a dedicated bearer in a universal packet data network (PDN) connection / protocol data unit (PDU) session (which has QoS and a default traffic filter that only allows connectivity to the UFCF).

[0074] In method 500, at block 508, a response to the request may be received, the response including a unique UAV identifier (UUID), a UAV certificate, and / or a network certificate. In one aspect, a registration component 352 (e.g., in combination with processor(s) 312, memory 316, transceiver 302, communication component 342, etc.) may receive a response to the request, the response including a UUID, a UAV certificate, and / or a network certificate. A network certificate may be a certificate issued by a certificate authority (CA) and assigned to a UFCF or USS. For example, one or more parameters received in the response may be used to protect or authenticate subsequent communications transmitted to other UAVs or aviation network components.

[0075] In one example, the response may be signed using a private key associated with the network certificate, and the registration component 352 may verify or authenticate the response using a public key of the network certificate (e.g., a certificate associated with a UFCF or USS), or a public key of a certificate authority associated with a civil aviation authority (CAA) (e.g., the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States (US), etc.). In one example, the public key of the CA may be received in the response or another communication, or may be otherwise known to the UAV. In this example, based on authenticating the response, the registration component 352 may store one or more parameters of the response for use in protecting subsequent communications, as further described herein. In addition, for example, the UUID may include a temporary identifier portion that is unique to the UFCF, USS, or otherwise unique to the geographic region in which the UAV 202 operates. The UUID may also include information for enabling discovery of a domain name server (DNS) of the UFCF, USS, etc. that publishes the UUID, for use in retrieving information about the UAV based on the UAV being identified via the UUID.

[0076] In another example, the response may further include a key pair (e.g., a public key and a private key pair) to be used with the UAV certificate. In one example, the key pair is generated by the UFCF (or USS), as further described herein, or may be generated by the registration component 352 and provided to the mobile network in the request of block 502. The public key in the key pair may be signed by the network using a private key associated with the network certificate. In any case, the UE 104 / UAV 202 may use parameters from the response to protect subsequent communications.

[0077] In method 500, optionally, at block 510, broadcast information may be generated for transmission to one or more UAVs or network components. In one aspect, the communication component 352 (e.g., in combination with the processor(s) 312, the memory 316, the transceiver 302, etc.) may generate broadcast information for transmission to one or more UAVs or network components. For example, the broadcast information may include information for identifying the UAV, flight information, etc., as described above or further herein. For example, the broadcast information may include an identifier of the UAV (e.g., a UUID), and / or other information that may enable a recipient to identify the UAV or retrieve a complete set of identification information of the UAV (e.g., identification information of the UAV owner and the remote pilot), etc. For example, the flight information may include a set of information about the flight (e.g., position, altitude, speed, direction, etc.) broadcast by the UAV.

[0078] In method 500, optionally, at block 512, at least the UAV identifier of the broadcast information may be signed with a private key associated with the UAV certificate. In one aspect, communication component 342 (e.g., in combination with processor(s) 312, memory 316, transceiver 302, etc.) may sign at least the UAV identifier of the broadcast information with a private key associated with the UAV certificate (e.g., as received in a response to a registration request). Signing the UAV identifier in this regard may facilitate protecting the broadcast information and / or authenticating the broadcast information as being associated with, communicated by, etc., an associated UAV.

[0079] In method 500, optionally, at block 514, at least the flight information may be signed with a public key associated with the UAV's certificate. In one aspect, communication component 342 (e.g., in combination with processor(s) 312, memory 316, transceiver 302, etc.) may sign at least the flight information (which may be included in the generated broadcast information) with a public key associated with the UAV's certificate. For example, the public key associated with the UAV's certificate may also be received in a response to the request at block 502. Thus, in one example, the broadcast information may include a UAV identifier signed with a private key and the flight information signed with a public key.

[0080] In method 500, optionally, in box 516, the UAV identifier may be protected for security (e.g., encrypted) using a public key associated with the network certificate. On the one hand, the communication component 342 (e.g., in combination with the processor (s) 312, the memory 316, the transceiver 302, etc.) may use a public key associated with the network certificate to protect the UAV identifier for security. For example, the communication component 342 may perform confidentiality protection, such as encryption, for the UAV identifier. In one example, the UAV identifier may be signed using a private key (e.g., associated with the UAV certificate, as described in box 512) and may be protected for security using a public key (e.g., associated with the network certificate). As described, the public key associated with the network certificate may also be received in response to the request at box 502. Using this key to protect the UAV identifier may allow the network component that issues the key to authenticate the broadcast information from the UAV 202.

[0081] In method 500, optionally, at block 518, the broadcast information may be transmitted to the one or more UAVs or network components. In one aspect, communication component 352 (e.g., in combination with processor(s) 312, memory 316, transceiver 302, etc.) may transmit the broadcast information to one or more UAVs (e.g., via a U2U interface) or a network component (e.g., UFCF, USS or other aviation network component, GCS, etc.). The receiving node may authenticate the communication based on the signed UAV identifier and / or the signed flight information using the transmitted UAV certificate.

[0082] Figure 6 A flow chart illustrating an example of a method 600 for provisioning safety information to a UAV for communication using a mobile network. In one example, the UFCF 204 may use Figure 2 and Figure 4 One or more of the components described in the method 600 may be used to perform the functions described in method 600.

[0083] In method 600, at block 602, a request to register with a mobile network may be received from a UAV. In one aspect, a registration request component 452 (e.g., in combination with processor(s) 412, memory 416, network interface 440, configuration component 442, etc.) may receive a request to register with a mobile network from a UAV. As described above, in one example, the request may be received via a restricted access connection with the UAV. In addition, for example, the request may include at least a hardware identifier of the UAV, which may be signed with a manufacturer certificate or with a private key associated with the manufacturer certificate. In addition, for example, the request may identify an operator, pilot, etc. of the UAV for further consideration when registering the UAV with the mobile network.

[0084] In method 600, at block 604, a response to the request may be transmitted to the UAV, the response including the UUID, the UAV certificate, and / or the network certificate. In one aspect, a security information component 454 (e.g., in combination with processor(s) 412, memory 416, network interface 440, configuration component 442, etc.) may transmit a response to the request to the UAV, the response including the UUID, the UAV certificate, and / or the network certificate. In one example, the UFCF 204 may generate one or more parameters for the response and / or the USS may generate one or more parameters for the response, as further described herein. For example, the security information component 454 may verify one or more identifiers received in the request when transmitting (or generating) a response. For example, the security information component 454 may authenticate a hardware identifier (e.g., a UAV identifier) ​​based on a hardware UAV certificate issued by the manufacturer of the UAV or a certificate of the manufacturer of the UAV, may verify an operator or pilot identifier as authorized to operate the UAV, etc., as part of transmitting (or generating) a response. The network certificate can be issued by the CA and assigned to the UFCF or USS.

[0085] When transmitting the response, optionally, at block 606, the response may be protected based on the network certificate. In one aspect, the security information component 454 (e.g., in combination with the processor(s) 412, the memory 416, the network interface 440, the configuration component 442, etc.) may protect the response based on the network certificate. For example, before transmitting the response to the UAV, the security information component 454 may sign the response using a private key associated with the network certificate (e.g., which may be a certificate associated with UFCF or USS) or a private key of a certificate authority associated with CAA. Signing the response using a private key associated with the network certificate may allow the UAV to authenticate the response by verifying the response using a public key associated with the network certificate (e.g., which may be a certificate associated with UFCF or USS) or a public key of a certificate authority associated with CAA.

[0086] In the method 600, optionally, at block 608, a network certificate for the USS may be received. In one aspect, the configuration component 442 (e.g., in combination with the processor(s) 412, the memory 416, the network interface 440, etc.) may receive the network certificate from the USS in a communication from the USS or in other configurations received from one or more components of the avionic network. The UFCF 204 may provide the USS's certificate to the UAV to allow the UAV to authenticate communications from the UFCF 204 (such as responses to requests to register on a mobile network). In one example, the security information component 454 may sign the response using a key associated with the network certificate received from the USS.

[0087] In method 600, optionally, at block 610, a USS may be determined based at least on a hardware identifier of the UAV. In one aspect, a registration request component 452 (e.g., in combination with processor(s) 412, memory 416, network interface 440, configuration component 442, etc.) may determine a USS based at least on a hardware identifier of the UAV. For example, the hardware identifier of the UAV may allow determination of a USS associated with a manufacturer or region of the UAV. In one example, the configuration component 442 may request a network certificate from the USS based on determining the USS (e.g., the network certificate may be received at block 608). In another example, the configuration component 442 may determine which of a plurality of network certificates to use to protect a response based on the determined USS (e.g., based on determining which of a plurality of network certificates is associated with the USS).

[0088] In another example, in method 600, optionally, at block 612, registration of the UAV may be requested from the USS. In one aspect, the registration request component 452 (e.g., in combination with the processor(s) 412, the memory 416, the network interface 440, the configuration component 442, etc.) may request registration of the UAV from the USS. For example, the registration request component 452 may request registration based on determining the USS associated with the UAV. For example, the registration request component 452 may transmit a request to the USS, which may include a hardware identifier of the UAV. In this example, the USS may verify the hardware identifier of the UAV (e.g., by authenticating the hardware identifier based on a certificate of the manufacturer). In addition, the request to register the UAV may include other parameters of the request received at block 602, such as an identifier of the operator, pilot, etc. of the UAV, and the USS may further prove that the operator, pilot, etc. are authorized to operate the UAV, etc.

[0089] In the method 600, optionally, at block 614, a registration response for the UAV may be received from the USS. In one aspect, the registration request component 452 (e.g., in combination with the processor(s) 412, the memory 416, the network interface 440, the configuration component 442, etc.) may receive a registration response for the UAV from the USS. For example, the registration request component 452 may receive a registration response that may include one or more parameters (e.g., a UUID, a UAV certificate, and / or a network certificate) for providing to the UAV. In another example, the registration response may include a key pair for the UAV to be used with the UAV certificate to sign communications to be transmitted to other UAVs or network components.

[0090] In method 600, optionally, at box 616, a UAV certificate or key pair may be generated based on the registration response. In one aspect, the security information component 454 (e.g., in combination with the processor(s) 412, the memory 416, the network interface 440, the configuration component 442, etc.) may generate a UAV certificate or key pair based on the registration response (e.g., based on receiving the registration response). For example, the security information component 454 may generate a UAV certificate based on an event of receiving a registration response and / or based on information received in the registration response. In addition, in one example, the security information component 454 may generate a UUID, and the UUID may have been provided in the registration request sent to the USS at box 612. In any case, the generated or received UUID, UAV certificate, key pair, etc. may be indicated in the response to the UAV to allow the UAV to use this information to protect subsequent communications.

[0091] In another example, in method 600, optionally, at block 618, a key pair may be signed based on the registration response. In one aspect, security information component 454 (e.g., in conjunction with processor(s) 412, memory 416, network interface 440, configuration component 442, etc.) may sign the key pair based on the registration response. For example, security information component 454 may receive the key pair from the UAV as part of the request received at block 602, and may sign the key pair based on successful registration of the UAV with the USS.

[0092] In another example, in method 600, optionally, at block 620, the hardware identifier from the request may be verified with a component of the UAV's home mobile network. In one aspect, the security information component 454 (e.g., in combination with the processor(s) 412, the memory 416, the network interface 440, the configuration component 442, etc.) may verify the hardware identifier from the request with a component of the UAV's home mobile network. For example, the UAV may be associated with another region (and another USS or other aviation network component). In this example, the security information component 454 (e.g., as part of verifying the UAV for transmitting the response, as described above) may verify the UAV to its home aviation network. In one example, the security information component 454 may send a registration request to a USS or UFCF in the UAV's home network, and may receive a registration response based on the registration request regarding whether the UAV can be registered / authenticated based on the provided hardware identifier (e.g., based on the USS or UFCF of the home network using a hardware UAV certificate issued by the manufacturer of the UAV or a certificate of the manufacturer of the UAV, etc. to authenticate the hardware identifier).

[0093] Figure 7A-7BExamples of various network components and associated identities and security credentials are illustrated, as described in the examples above and further herein. In one example, Figure 7A-7B The UAV identity is created and provided to the UAV 202 (which may be different from the USS-specific authentication and authorization (USAA)). Figure 7A-7B A sequence of steps for performing the described functions between nodes may be illustrated, wherein Fig. 7A The steps in Figure 7B The steps in are performed after the steps in are performed. The UAV 202 may be associated with its manufacturer 702, which may provide a manufacturer certificate to allow the UAV 202 to sign communications to protect or authenticate the communications, as described herein. In this example, the “aircraft-grade” UAV identity may be visible to the MNO 704 core network (CN), which may include, for example, a 3GPP mobile network (e.g., Figure 2 212 in the 3GPP mobile network). In one example, the mobile network (e.g., a 3GPP system) may provide a mobile network identity to the UAV component to operate on the MNO 704, where the identity can be used for both the broadcast remote identifier (BRID) and the network remote identifier (NRID) and the communication between the MNO 704 and the USS 210, which can be provided by the UFCF 204 or associated with the UFCF 204. For example, the UUID can allow the identification of a network function that stores the UAV registration information. In some examples, the FAA (or other CAAs in other regions) can be used as an aviation regulatory function. More generally, the CAA 706 may be referred to herein as a general aviation regulatory function, which can be location-specific, government-specific, etc., to regulate air traffic in one or more geographic regions. Some regions or entities (e.g., CAAs) may have privacy requirements to change the certificates assigned to the UAV to protect the information broadcast by the UAV. The CAA 706 can be associated with a root CA 708 (e.g., per country).

[0094] In one example, a solution similar to that employed in V2X may be considered. UAV Identifier and Credential Bootstrapping (UICB) may occur according to the following model: UICB may occur via the MNO to which the UAV subscribes through Uu connectivity (e.g., out-of-band UICB is also possible); in-coverage UICB may occur on Uu (which may be performed by the UFCF); and out-of-coverage UICB may also occur for the UAV for out-of-coverage operations (which may be performed by the USS). In one example, the UAV may have both in-coverage UICB and out-of-coverage UICB identities and credentials to be used for both scenarios mutually exclusively. In addition, for example, network UAVc and non-networked UAVc in the Internet may perform similar UUID and credential bootstrapping.

[0095] Figures 8A-8B An example of various network components for UAV identity registration and assignment based on UAV guidance is illustrated. Fig. 8A 706 and the manufacturer 702 may register its certificate with the CAA 706 and issue a hardware (HW) UAV ID for the UAV and an associated UAV device certificate. The UAV device certificate may be verified using the manufacturer certificate. At 810, a UAV operator 802 wishing to put the UAV 202 into operation may provide an MNO subscription and trigger the UAV registration with the CAA 706. At 812, it may be assumed that the UAV 202 is registered with the MNO network 704 for UAV provisioning with restricted connectivity, enabling only connectivity to the UFCF 204. This may be via a specific APN / DNN, or via a dedicated bearer in a generic PDN connection / PDU session with QoS and a default traffic filter that only allows connectivity to the UFCF 204.

[0096] At 814, the UAV 202 may send a registration request to the UFCF 204, providing registration information including the HW UAV ID signed with the manufacturer's certificate and information obtained from the UAV operator (e.g., UAV pilot identification, UAV operator identification, etc.). In one example, to generate the UAV certificate, the UAV 202 may also generate a new public / private key pair and send a certificate signing request (including the generated public key) signed with the UAV device certificate to the core network. The message is protected between the UAV 202 and the UFCF 204 or the USS 210 using a hardware UAV certificate issued by the manufacturer 702 of the UAV 202 or a certificate of the manufacturer 702 of the UAV 202 (e.g., protected using a private key of a hardware UAV certificate issued by the manufacturer 702 of the UAV 202 or a certificate of the manufacturer 702 of the UAV 202). The UFCF 204 or USS 210 may verify the protected information (e.g., using a hardware UAV certificate issued by the manufacturer 702 of the UAV 202 or a public key of a certificate of the manufacturer 702 of the UAV 202) and may send at least a portion of the protected information to the CAA 706 for verification.

[0097] The HW UAV ID and UAV certificate may be based on a chipset hardware security solution, which may be independent of the UAV manufacturer and dependent on the chipset manufacturer security. If it is necessary to protect messages between the UAV 202 and the UFCF 204 (e.g., where the UUID is assigned by the UFCF 204 and the UAV certificate is provided by the UFCF 204), this can be protected by a solution similar to PC3 (e.g., when the UAV establishes connectivity, the MNO credentials are used for booting via the Generic Bootstrapping Architecture (GBA) or the Authentication and Key Agreement (AKMA)). This may be based on the assumption that the MNO credentials are bound to the UAV 202 (e.g., and are not removable). This may not happen if the UAV 202 is able to change the MNO subscription. The UAV may be pre-configured with information for UFCF 204 discovery in the current public land mobile network (PLMN), or discovery may be performed via a domain name system (DNS). In this example, at 816, the UFCF may assign a UUID to the UAV 202.

[0098] Continue to Figure 8B , at 818 (e.g., at Fig. 8A 704), the UAV 202 may provide information (e.g., a combination of UAV HW ID, operator ID, etc.) to assist in the USS 210 selection (e.g., the USS serves a particular operator). The UFCF 204 may select the USS 210 based on such information. Alternatively, the USS address may be pre-configured in the UAV MNO subscription for the USS 210 operated by the MNO 704 and provided to the UFCF 204 by the UAV 202. If the UUID is assigned by the UFCF 204, the UFCF 204 may provide the UUID. It may be assumed that the UAV 202 is provisioned with a USS certificate, which the UAV 202 uses to verify the registration response (or information carried in the response) received from the USS 210. At 820, if the UFCF 204 has not assigned, the USS 210 may assign a USS UAV ID (UUID). At 822, the USS 210 may trigger registration with the CAA 706 (security and trust may exist between the USS 210 and the CAA 706), providing the assigned UUID and registration information. At 824 and 826, the CAA 706 may verify the HW UAV ID using the manufacturer certificate and store the correlation between the HW UAV ID, UUID, operator, pilot, etc. for future verification. At 828, the CAA 706 may confirm the registration with the USS 210, optionally providing any required CAA configuration information for the UAV 202.

[0099] In this example, at 830, if the USS 210 assigns a UUID, the USS 210 may issue a USS UAV certificate (referred to herein as a "UAV certificate" and sent to the UAV 202 when signed with the USS certificate). If the UAV 202 sends a certificate signing request, the USS 210 may send only the USS UAV certificate. If the UAV 202 does not send a certificate signing request, the USS 210 may generate a pair of public / private keys to be used with the USS UAV certificate for future communications between the UAVs 202. The USS 210 may store all such correlations. At 832, the USS 210 may create a USS configuration policy based on the CAA configuration information and the local USS policy. The USS 210 may confirm the registration and provide the UUID (if assigned) to the UFCF 204, and the UFCF 204 may store the UAV information.

[0100] At 834, the UFCF 204 may confirm the registration to the UAV 202, thereby providing the UUID, the USS UAV certificate issued to the UAV (if the UUID is provided by the USS), the USS certificate (if the UUID is provided by the USS), the public key associated with the certificate authority, and the UAV configuration information, including CAA and USS configuration information. If the UFCF 204 provides the UUID, the UFCF 204 may issue a UFCF UAV certificate (referred to herein as a "UAV certificate"). If the UAV 202 sends a certificate signing request, the UFCF 204 may send only a UFCFUAV certificate. If the UAV 202 does not send a certificate signing request, the UFCF 204 may generate a pair of public / private keys to be used with the UFCFUAV certificate for future communications between the UAV 202 and the UFCF 204. The UFCF 204 may also provide a USS configuration policy and a UFCF configuration policy. Since the USS / UFCF certificate is signed by the CA, the USS / UFCF certificate may be used to protect communications and the CA certificate may be used by the UE to verify communications. At 836, the UAV 202 may confirm the registration with the UAV operator 802. Future communications between the UAV 202 and the UFCF 204 / USS 210 may be protected using the USS / UFCF certificate and the USS / UFCF UAV certificate.

[0101] Fig. 9An example of various network components for UAV identity registration and assignment based on HW UAV information is explained. In this example, the manufacturer 702 may share a security relationship with the CAA 706 and be verified by the CAA 706. The procedure may be performed out-of-band and without MNO intervention, without using MNO connectivity, etc. In this example, at 910, an operator 802 who wishes to put the UAV 202 into operation may trigger the UAV registration to the CAA 706 via the manufacturer 702, and may send a registration request to the USS 210, providing registration information including a signed HW UAV ID (signed with the manufacturer UAV certificate), operator information, and pilot information. The request may be protected using a public key associated with the manufacturer certificate. At 912, the USS 210 may temporarily assign a USS UAV ID (UUID). At 914, 916, 918, 920, the USS 210 may trigger registration with the CAA 706 (which may provide security and trust between the USS and CAA), thereby providing the assigned UUID and registration information. The CAA 706 may verify the HW UAV ID and store the correlation between the HW UAV ID, UUID, operator, pilot, etc. for future verification. The CAA 706 may confirm the registration to the USS 210, optionally providing any required CAA configuration information for the UAV 920 in a registration response 920. At 922, the USS 210 may create a USS configuration policy based on the CAA configuration information and local USS policies. The USS 210 may issue a USS UAV certificate for future communications and store the correlation between all such information (sent to the requestor if signed with the USS certificate). At 924 and 926, USS 210 may confirm the registration, provide the UUID, the USS UAV certificate assigned to UAV 202, the USS certificate, the public key associated with the CA-issued certificate, and the UAV configuration information including CAA and USS configuration information. Communications may be protected using the USS certificate and authenticated by the UE using the CA-issued certificate (the USS certificate is signed by a key associated with the CA). At 928, operator 802 may load the configuration information to UAV 202.

[0102] Fig.10An example of various network components for MNO-based secure booting is illustrated, where UAV identity registration and allocation are based on UAV booting. In this example, the UAV identity is provisioned for the UE during USAA. The manufacturer 702 may share a security relationship with the CAA 706 and sign the HW UAV ID with the UAV device certificate. At 1010, the operator 802 who wishes to put the UAV 202 into operation may provide an MNO subscription and trigger the UAV registration to the CAA 706. At 1012, the UAV 202 may perform a registration with the MNO 704. This may be a registration procedure (in 5GS) or an attachment procedure (in EPC) with PDN connection establishment. At 1014, 1016, 1018, the UICB may be executed and the identity and credentials may be booted, as described above. Step 1016 may include performing steps 814 to 834 as shown and described in FIG. 8 above. The UAV 202 may be provisioned with a UUID and credentials, and the USAA may be triggered by the CN, USS, or UE (depending on the model). At 1020, USAA may be performed between the UE of the UAV 202, the MNO 704, the UFCF 204, and the USS 210. The UFCF 204 may store the results of the USAA and any configuration information received during the USAA. The USAA is performed using the UAV credentials provided by the UFCF 204 or the USS 210 during bootstrapping. At 1022, a successful USAA may enable UAV operation. At 1024, the UAV 202 may confirm registration with the UAV operator 802.

[0103] Figures 11A-11B An example of various network components for UAV identity registration and assignment based on detecting that the UAV is located in a different country is illustrated. Fig.11A, at 1110, the UE of the UAV 202 detects that it is located in a different country (e.g., the PLMN ID of the available PLMN). At 1112, it may be assumed that the UAV 202 is registered to an MNO network with restricted connectivity for UAV provisioning, enabling connectivity only to the USS 1104, which may be provided by or associated with the UFCF 1102 of the visited PLMN (VPLMN), as described. This may be via a specific APN / DNN, or via a dedicated bearer in a generic PDN connection / PDU session with QoS and a default traffic filter that allows connectivity only to the UFCF 1102. At 1114, the UAV 202 may send a registration request to the UFCF 1102, providing registration information including a signed HW UAV ID, a UAV device certificate, and information obtained from the UAV operator (e.g., a UAV pilot identity, a UAV operator identity, etc.). In addition, the UE of the UAV 202 may include an existing UUID-H (if assigned), a UE Subscription Permanent Identifier (SUPI), or a UAV Universal Public Subscription Identifier (GPSI) assigned to the UAV 202 by the Home PLMN (HPLMN) to enable identification of the UFCF-H 204. In one example, the HW UAV ID and UAV certificate may be based on a chipset hardware security solution, as described. The UAV 202 may be pre-configured with information for discovery of the UFCF-V 1102 in the current PLMN, or discovery may be performed via DNS.

[0104] At 1116, the UFCF-V 1102 may discover the UFCF-H 204 (e.g., via DNS with a suitably created fully qualified domain name (FQDN)) using the UAV ID (which may be the UUID-H, HPLMN UAV SUPI, or UAV HPLMN GPSI if there is any) and forward a registration verification query containing the UAV information (registration information). The UFCF-H 204 may select a USS 210 of a home country (e.g., a USS serving a particular operator). Alternatively, the home USS address may be pre-configured in the UAV MNO subscription for a USS 210 operated by the MNO and provided by the UAV 202 to the UFCF-V 1102 for forwarding to the UFCF-H 204. It may be assumed that the UAV 202 is provisioned with a USS certificate, which the UAV 202 uses to verify the registration response (or information carried in the response) received from the USS (in this case, the USS-H 210). At 1118, the UFCF-H 204 may verify the UUID-H (if there is any). At 1120, the UFCF-H 204 may forward the request to the USS-H 210. At 1122, the USS-H 210 may verify the UAV registration information (specifically, the UAV HW ID and the operator and pilot information). The CAA-H 706 may verify the signed HW UAV ID (possibly interacting with the civil aviation authority to obtain the appropriate certificate), and / or may confirm the validity of the provided information to authorize registration in the VPLMN. The CAA-H 706 may be associated with a root CA (e.g., per country), which may be a CA-H 708. At 1124, the USS 210 may confirm the UAV information to the UFCF-H 204, which may confirm the UAV information to the USS-H 210 based on the CAA-H 706.

[0105] Continue to Fig. 11B , at 1126 (e.g., at Fig.11A 8 ), the USS-H or UFCF 204 may confirm the UAV information to the UFCF-V 1102. Steps 1128-1144 may be similar to steps 818-836 in FIG. 8 , but performed via the UFCF 1102, USS 1104, and CAA 1106 of the visited network / region. CAA-V 1106 may be associated with a root CA (e.g., per country) which may be CA-V 1108. UAV 202 may retain UUID-H, but only use UUID-V in BRID and NRID operations.

[0106] Fig.12Examples of various network components for using UAV identities and credentials are illustrated. At 1210, the UAV 202 may determine whether it is operating in coverage or out of coverage (i.e., whether the UE is connected to the MNO), and may select a UUID and corresponding credentials for use in generating BRID broadcast information. The UAV 202 generates the following content for the BRID broadcast. The content may include a BRID UAV identity, which may be a UAV UUID signed by the UAV using a USS / UFCF UAV certificate and (partially) protected for confidentiality using a public key associated with the USS certificate, and / or may include BRID UAV flight information, which may be signed using a USS / UFCF UAV certificate and verified using a public key associated with a CA-issued certificate (because the USS / UFCF certificate is derived "under" the CA hierarchy). At 1212 and 1214, upon receiving the UAV BRID information, another UAV 1202 may receive and verify the validity of the flight information using the public key associated with the CA, which is provided during the registration procedure to any UAV that was provided with a UUID during UFCF / USS and CAA registration. At 1216 and 1218, upon receiving the BRID information from the UAV, the GCS 1204 may use the UUID to identify the relevant UFCF or USS 1206 (if the UAV used is in the overlay UUID, it will be the MNO UFCF; otherwise it will be the USS). At 1220, the GCS 1204 may request information verification from the UFCF or USS 1206 by providing the UAV ID received in the BRID broadcast. The UFCF or USS 1206 may decode and verify the content, retrieve the UAV information (ID, pilot, operator, etc.), and return it to the GCS 1204.

[0107] Fig.13 An example of various network components for using UAV identities and credentials when roaming in a different country is illustrated. Fig.12 1206, but the UFCF or USS 1206 may be on the visited network. Thus, for example, the flight information may be verified at 1314 using the CA-V's public key (with Fig.12 ), and the USS or UFCF identified at 1318 may be USS-V or UFCF-V (as opposed to CA-H in Fig.12 opposite to USS-H or UFCF-H in the example above).

[0108] Fig.14 1 is a block diagram of a MIMO communication system 1400 including a base station 102 and a UE 104 according to various aspects of the present disclosure. The MIMO communication system 1400 may be illustrated with reference to Figure 1The base station 102 may be a base station 102. Figure 1 Examples of various aspects of base station 102 are described. Additionally, UE 104 can communicate with another UE on sidelink resources using similar functionality as described herein with respect to UE 104 and base station 102 communications.

[0109] Base station 102 may be equipped with antennas 1434 and 1435, and UE 104 may be equipped with antennas 1452 and 1453. In MIMO communication system 1400, base station 102 may be able to send data on multiple communication links simultaneously. Each communication link may be referred to as a "layer", and the "rank" of a communication link may indicate the number of layers used for communication. For example, in a 2x2 MIMO communication system where base station 102 transmits two "layers", the rank of the communication link between base station 102 and UE 104 is 2.

[0110] At the base station 102, a transmit (Tx) processor 1420 may receive data from a data source. The transmit processor 1420 may process the data. The transmit processor 1420 may also generate a control symbol or a reference symbol. The transmit MIMO processor 1430 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on ​​data symbols, control symbols, or reference symbols, where applicable, and may provide an output symbol stream to transmit modulators / demodulators 1432 and 1433. Each modulator / demodulator 1432 to 1433 may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator / demodulator 1432 to 1433 may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and up-convert) the output sample stream to obtain a DL signal. In an example, the DL signals from modulators / demodulators 1432 and 1433 may be transmitted via antennas 1434 and 1435, respectively.

[0111] UE 104 may be a reference Figure 1-2Examples of various aspects of the described UE 104. At the UE 104, the UE antennas 1452 and 1453 can receive DL signals from the base station 102 and can provide the received signals to the modulators / demodulators 1454 and 1455, respectively. Each modulator / demodulator 1454 to 1455 can condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a respective received signal to obtain input samples. Each modulator / demodulator 1454 to 1455 can further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. The MIMO detector 1456 can obtain the received symbols from the modulators / demodulators 1454 and 1455, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols where applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive (Rx) processor 1458 may process (eg, demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for the UE 104 to a data output, and provide decoded control information to a processor 1480 or memory 1482 .

[0112] Processor 1480 may, in some cases, execute stored instructions to instantiate communication component 342 (eg, see Figure 2 and 3 ).

[0113] On the uplink (UL), at the UE 104, a transmit processor 1464 may receive and process data from a data source. The transmit processor 1464 may also generate reference symbols for a reference signal. The symbols from the transmit processor 1464 may be precoded by a transmit MIMO processor 1466, if applicable, further processed by modulators / demodulators 1454 and 1455 (e.g., for SC-FDMA, etc.), and transmitted to the base station 102 based on the communication parameters received from the base station 102. At the base station 102, the UL signals from the UE 104 may be received by antennas 1434 and 1435, processed by modulators / demodulators 1432 and 1433, detected by a MIMO detector 1436, if applicable, and further processed by a receive processor 1438. The receive processor 1438 may provide decoded data to a data output and to the processor 1440 or memory 1442.

[0114] The components of the UE 104 may be implemented individually or collectively using one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) adapted to perform some or all applicable functions in hardware. Each of the modules mentioned may be a device for performing one or more functions related to the operation of the MIMO communication system 1400. Similarly, the components of the base station 102 may be implemented individually or collectively using one or more ASICs adapted to perform some or all applicable functions in hardware. Each of the components mentioned may be a device for performing one or more functions related to the operation of the MIMO communication system 1400.

[0115] The following aspects are merely illustrative, and aspects thereof may be combined with aspects of other embodiments or teachings described herein without limitation.

[0116] Aspect 1 is a method for registering a UAV in a mobile network, the method comprising: transmitting, by the UAV, a request to register with the mobile network, wherein the request includes at least a hardware identifier of the UAV; and receiving a response to the request from a component of the mobile network, wherein the response includes a unique UAV identifier generated by at least one of the component of the mobile network or a USS, a UAV certificate, and a network certificate.

[0117] In aspect 2, the method of aspect 1 includes connecting to the mobile network through a restricted access connection to perform registration, wherein transmitting the request and receiving the response are performed over the restricted access connection.

[0118] In aspect 3, the method of any one of aspects 1 or 2 includes: wherein the hardware identifier of the UAV is signed with a hardware UAV certificate issued by the manufacturer of the UAV.

[0119] In aspect 4, the method of any one of aspects 1 to 3 includes: generating a public key and a private key pair, wherein the request includes a request to sign the public key and the private key pair with the UAV certificate.

[0120] In aspect 5, the method of any one of aspects 1 to 4 includes: wherein the response further includes a public key and a private key pair to be used with the UAV certificate in subsequent communications with the mobile network.

[0121] In aspect 6, the method of any one of aspects 1 to 5 includes: wherein transmitting the request is based at least in part on detecting at the UAV that the mobile network credentials are not stored in the memory of the UAV.

[0122] In aspect 7, the method of any one of aspects 1 to 6 includes: wherein transmitting the request is based at least in part on detecting at the UAV that the UAV is present in a geographic area outside of a home geographic area defined by the UAV.

[0123] In aspect 8, the method of any one of aspects 1 to 7 includes: generating broadcast information to be broadcast to one or more other UAVs or UTM components, wherein the broadcast information includes a UAV identifier and flight information; signing at least the UAV identifier with the UAV certificate; and transmitting the broadcast information to the one or more other UAVs or the UTM component.

[0124] In aspect 9, the method of any one of aspects 1 to 8 includes: wherein the response further includes a public key associated with a certificate of a civil authority, and the method includes signing the flight information with the public key.

[0125] In aspect 10, the method of any of aspects 8 or 9 includes: protecting the UAV identifier with a public key associated with the network certificate.

[0126] In aspect 11, the method of any one of aspects 1 to 10 includes: wherein the UAV identifier includes a temporary identifier portion and a routing information portion for identifying the component of the mobile network or the USS.

[0127] Aspect 12 is a method for registering a UAV in a mobile network, the method comprising: receiving a request to register with the mobile network from the UAV, wherein the request includes at least a hardware identifier of the UAV; and transmitting a response to the request to the UAV, wherein the response includes a unique UAV identifier, a UAV certificate, and a network certificate.

[0128] In aspect 13, the method of aspect 12 includes: requesting registration of the UAV from a USS; and receiving a registration response for the UAV from the USS, wherein the response to the request transmitted to the UAV is based on the registration response.

[0129] In aspect 14, the method of aspect 13 includes determining the USS based at least in part on the hardware identifier.

[0130] In aspect 15, the method of any one of aspect 13 or aspect 14 includes: generating the UAV certificate based on the registration response.

[0131] In aspect 16, the method of any one of aspects 13 to 15 includes: generating a public key and a private key pair for the UAV based on the registration response, wherein the response to the request further includes the public key and the private key pair.

[0132] In aspect 17, the method of any one of aspects 13 to 16 includes: signing the public key and private key pair received in the request from the UAV based on the registration response.

[0133] In aspect 18, the method of any one of aspects 13 to 17 includes: receiving at least one of the UAV identifier or the UAV certificate in the registration response.

[0134] In aspect 19, the method of any one of aspects 13 to 18 includes: receiving the network certificate from the USS.

[0135] In aspect 20, the method of any one of aspects 12 to 19 includes: using the network certificate to protect the response, wherein the network certificate is signed by a civil aviation authority, and wherein the response to the request also includes a public key associated with the civil aviation authority.

[0136] In aspect 21, the method of any one of aspects 12 to 19 includes: wherein transmitting the response to the request is based at least in part on verifying the hardware identifier with a component of the UAV's home mobile network.

[0137] Aspect 22 is a device for wireless communication, comprising: a memory configured to store instructions; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute instructions to perform operations of one or more methods of any one of Aspects 1 to 21.

[0138] Aspect 23 is an apparatus for wireless communication, comprising means for performing the operations of one or more methods in any one of aspects 1 to 21.

[0139] Aspect 24 is a computer-readable medium comprising code executable by one or more processors to perform the operations of one or more methods in any one of Aspects 1 to 21.

[0140] The above detailed description set forth above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings describes examples and does not represent the only examples that can be implemented or fall within the scope of the claims. The term "example" when used in this description means "used as an example, instance, or illustration", rather than "better than" or "better than other examples". This detailed description includes specific details to provide an understanding of the described techniques. However, these techniques can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

[0141] Information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be mentioned throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, computer executable codes or instructions stored on computer-readable media, or any combination thereof.

[0142] The various illustrative blocks and components described in conjunction with the disclosure herein may be implemented or executed with a specially programmed device, such as, but not limited to, a processor designed to perform the functions described herein, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. The specially programmed processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The specially programmed processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0143] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, each function may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on or transmitted by a non-transient computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations fall within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the above functions may be implemented using software, hardware, hard wiring, or any combination thereof executed by a specially programmed processor. Features that implement the functions may also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed so that parts of the functions are implemented at different physical locations. In addition, the term "or" is intended to represent an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless otherwise specified or clearly seen from the context, phrases such as "X adopts A or B" are intended to represent any natural concurrent arrangement. That is, for example, the phrase "X adopts A or B" is satisfied by any of the following instances: X adopts A; X adopts B; or X adopts both A and B. Additionally, as used herein (including in the claims), “or” used in a list of items followed by “at least one of” indicates a disjunctive list so that, for example, a list of “at least one of A, B, or C” means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (A and B and C).

[0144] Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, including any media that facilitates a computer program to be transferred from one place to another. Storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general or special-purpose computer. As an example and not limitation, computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code means of an instruction or data structure form and can be accessed by a general or special-purpose computer or a general or special-purpose processor. Similarly, any connection is also properly referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, a server or other remote sources using a coaxial cable, a fiber optic cable, a twisted pair, a digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwaves, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwaves are included in the definition of the medium. Disk and disc as used herein include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc, wherein disk usually reproduces data magnetically, while disc reproduces data optically with laser. Combinations of the above media are also included in the scope of computer-readable media.

[0145] The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable those skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the common principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. In addition, although the elements of the described aspects and / or embodiments may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is also contemplated unless explicitly stated to be limited to the singular. In addition, all or part of any aspect and / or embodiment may be used in conjunction with all or part of any other aspect and / or embodiment, unless otherwise stated. Thus, the disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be granted the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for registering an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a mobile network, comprising: transmitting, by the UAV, a request to register with the mobile network, wherein the request includes at least a hardware identifier of the UAV, wherein the hardware identifier of the UAV allows determination of an unmanned aircraft system service provider (USS) associated with the UAV; and Receiving a response to the request from a component of the mobile network, wherein the response includes a unique UAV identifier generated by at least one of the component of the mobile network or the USS based on the hardware identifier of the UAV, a UAV certificate, and a network certificate, wherein the component of the mobile network requests registration of the UAV from the USS and receives a registration response for the UAV from the USS, and wherein the response is based on the registration response.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising connecting to the mobile network over a restricted access connection to perform registration, wherein transmitting the request and receiving the response are performed over the restricted access connection.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the hardware identifier of the UAV is signed with a hardware UAV certificate issued by a manufacturer of the UAV.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating a public and private key pair, wherein the request comprises a request to sign the public and private key pair with the UAV certificate.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the response further comprises a public and private key pair to be used with the UAV certificate in subsequent communications with the mobile network.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the request is based at least in part on detecting at the UAV that mobile network credentials are not stored in a memory of the UAV.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the request is based at least in part on detecting at the UAV that the UAV is present in a geographic area outside of a home geographic area defined by the UAV.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: generating broadcast information for broadcast to one or more other UAVs or UAV traffic management (UTM) components, wherein the broadcast information includes a UAV identifier and flight information; signing at least the UAV identifier with the UAV certificate; as well as The broadcast information is transmitted to the one or more other UAVs or the UTM component.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the response further comprises a public key associated with a certificate of a civil authority, the method further comprising signing the flight information with the public key.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising protecting the UAV identifier with a public key associated with the network certificate.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the UAV identifier comprises a temporary identifier portion and a routing information portion for identifying the component of the mobile network or the USS.

12. A method for registering an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a mobile network, comprising: receiving, from the UAV, a request to register with the mobile network, wherein the request includes at least a hardware identifier of the UAV, wherein the hardware identifier of the UAV allows determination of an unmanned aircraft system service provider (USS) associated with the UAV; Requesting registration of the UAV from the USS; receiving a registration response for the UAV from the USS; as well as A response to the request is transmitted to the UAV based on the registration response, wherein the response includes a unique UAV identifier generated by at least one of a component of the mobile network or the USS based on the hardware identifier of the UAV, a UAV certificate, and a network certificate.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising determining the USS based at least in part on the hardware identifier.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising generating the UAV credential based on the registration response.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising generating a public and private key pair for the UAV based on the registration response, wherein the response to the request further comprises the public and private key pair.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising: Based on the registration response, a public key and a private key pair received in the request from the UAV are signed.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising receiving at least one of the UAV identifier or the UAV certificate in the registration response.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising receiving the network certificate from the USS.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising protecting the response using the network certificate, wherein the network certificate is signed by a civil aviation authority, and wherein the response to the request further comprises a public key associated with the civil aviation authority.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein transmitting the response to the request is based at least in part on verifying the hardware identifier with a component of a home mobile network of the UAV.

21. An apparatus for registering an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a mobile network, comprising: a memory configured to store instructions; as well as one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: transmitting a request to register with the mobile network, wherein the request includes at least a hardware identifier of the UAV, wherein the hardware identifier of the UAV allows determination of an unmanned aircraft system service provider (USS) associated with the UAV; and Receiving a response to the request from a component of the mobile network, wherein the response includes a unique UAV identifier generated by at least one of the component of the mobile network or the USS based on the hardware identifier of the UAV, a UAV certificate, and a network certificate, wherein the component of the mobile network requests registration of the UAV from the USS and receives a registration response for the UAV from the USS, and wherein the response is based on the registration response.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to connect to the mobile network over a restricted access connection to perform registration, wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit the request and receive the response over the restricted access connection.

23. An apparatus as described in claim 21, wherein the hardware identifier of the UAV is signed with a hardware UAV certificate issued by the manufacturer of the UAV.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to generate a public and private key pair, wherein the request comprises a request to sign the public and private key pair with the UAV certificate.

25. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the response further comprises a public and private key pair to be used with the UAV certificate in subsequent communications with the mobile network.

26. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit the request based at least in part on detecting at the UAV that mobile network credentials are not stored in a memory of the UAV.

27. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the one or more processors are configured to transmit the request based at least in part on detecting at the UAV that the UAV is present in a geographic area outside of a home geographic area defined by the UAV.

28. An apparatus for registering an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a mobile network, comprising: a memory configured to store instructions; as well as one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receiving, from the UAV, a request to register with the mobile network, wherein the request includes at least a hardware identifier of the UAV, wherein the hardware identifier of the UAV allows determination of an unmanned aircraft system service provider (USS) associated with the UAV; Requesting registration of the UAV from the USS; receiving a registration response for the UAV from the USS; as well as A response to the request is transmitted to the UAV based on the registration response, wherein the response includes a unique UAV identifier generated by at least one of a component of the mobile network or the USS based on the hardware identifier of the UAV, a UAV certificate, and a network certificate.

Images