Resilient time dissemination fusion framework for UAVs for smart cities

Future smart cities will consist of a heterogeneous environment, including UGVs (Unmanned Ground Vehicles) and UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), used for different applications such as last mile delivery. Considering the vulnerabilities of GNSS (Global Navigation System Satellite) in urban environments, a resilient PNT (Position, Navigation, Timing) solution is needed. A key research question within the PNT community is the capability to deliver a robust and resilient time solution to multiple devices simultaneously. The paper is proposing an innovative time dissemination framework, based on Iquia’s SDN (Software Defined Network) and quantum random key encryption from Quantum Dice to multiple users. The time signal is disseminated using a wireless IEEE 802.11ax, through a wireless AP (Access point) which is received by each user, where a KF (Kalman Filter) is used to enhance the timing resilience of each client into the framework. Each user is equipped with a Jetson Nano board as CC (Companion Computer), a GNSS receiver, an IEEE 802.11ax wireless card, an embedded RTC (Real Time clock) system, and a Pixhawk 2.1 as FCU (Flight Control Unit). The paper is presenting the performance of the fusion framework using the MUEAVI (Multi-user Environment for Autonomous Vehicle Innovation) Cranfield’s University facility. Results showed that an alternative timing source can securely be delivered fulfilling last mile delivery requirements for aerial platforms achieving sub millisecond offset.