UAS Datalink Arbitration With Framed Broadcast for Link Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The reliability of communication links between unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and ground control stations (GCS) is a critical challenge, particularly in ensuring data integrity and minimizing latency in dynamic and potentially failure-prone environments.
Innovation Solution
Implementing software module arbiters on the communication components of UAVs and GCS to establish logical links and manage data packet transmission and reception, using message sequence indications to ensure data delivery and prevent duplicates, while maintaining redundancy through multiple communication channels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple communication channels are used to maintain redundancy, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The communication system is segmented into multiple independent communication channels, allowing data to be transmitted through different paths. This segmentation provides redundancy so that if one channel fails, other channels can maintain the communication link, thereby improving reliability without requiring a completely redundant system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The arbiter software module serves multiple functions: it manages multiple communication channels, performs datalink arbitration, handles packet sequencing, and ensures data integrity. By making the arbiter multi-functional, the system achieves high reliability through channel redundancy without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
2Reliability
If datalink arbitration is implemented to ensure data integrity, then reliability is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The arbiter pre-establishes communication channels and prepares arbitration mechanisms before data transmission begins. By having the arbitration framework and multiple channels ready in advance, the system can quickly route data packets without performing complex arbitration decisions in real-time, thus maintaining data integrity while minimizing latency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates copies of data packets and transmits them through multiple communication channels simultaneously. This copying approach ensures that at least one copy arrives intact even if some channels fail, maintaining data integrity while reducing the time needed for retransmission attempts.
3Reliability
If message sequence indications are used to prevent duplicate packets, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The arbiter uses message sequence numbers as a simple parameter to track and identify data packets. By changing the parameter from complex packet verification to simple sequence number comparison, the system achieves reliable duplicate detection with minimal software complexity. The sequence numbers provide a straightforward mechanism to identify and discard duplicate packets.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of arbitrating communications between unmanned aerial system (UAS) devices includes: receiving, at a first communication component of a first UAS device, information for transmission to a destination associated with a second UAS device; inserting, by a first arbiter executing on the first communication component, a message sequence indication into a payload of a data packet that contains the information; transmitting, by the first arbiter, a respective copy of the data packet over each of a plurality of communication links established between the first and second UAS devices; receiving, at a second communication component of the second UAS device, one or more copies of the data packet; and determining in accordance with the message sequence indication, by a second arbiter executing on the second communication component, for each received copy of the data packet, whether to deliver the information to the destination.