UAS and the Digital Transformation

 Introduction

As drones are being used more and more within the workforce there becomes more of a demand for them. As more companies realize how useful these platforms are they also require greater data processing requirements and greater autonomy requirements. With cloud computing and IoT, these requirements can be met and exceeded. By sending the Data off the drone via an internet connection to a data processing facility there can be greater turnaround times for almost real-time data processing for use out in the field. By also applying the cloud computing options there is greater accessibility as now that data can be accessed by any approved device connected to the same interface.

By taking machine learning and applying it to all the data that a fleet of drones can collect it will allow an AI to learn and soon make its own decisions based on events. By also incorporating flight controllers and 4G LTE connection the platform can be swarmed and controlled from basically anywhere. This will provide greater data gathering and thus add more to the whole system.

    IoT 

For the internet of things the amount of data coming in is critical. The more data that comes in the more information that the system gains. It has lately been restricted to static sensors but by applying drones to this IoT system those data-gathering sensors now can move and gather more data for the system. The next step after having this single moble data collector is to have more collectors to gather the most data possible via a swarm.

    Cloud Computing

There are many companies looking to take the data processing side and speed it up as quick as possible. One way that they look to combat this is through cloud computing. All that is required is a small computer with an internet connection that can upload the collected data to the cloud. Once in the cloud, the data can be processed and stitched together with other datasets and created a finalized dataset that can be used.

    Big Data

With many drones starting to populate the airspace a big question is how to track them. In one source that was found I discovered a company that wished to use big data processing to gather all the data on drones that were currently in the air, weather, TFRs, and other hazards. Then manage the drone flights based on this. Currently, the hardest part of this process is the data processing and soon it might be made easier with cloud computing.

    AI

By linking all these processes with artificial intelligence it allows that system to start making the decisions for itself without human interaction. Currently the military is able to have a drone autonomously avoid obstacles and plan missions without human interaction. The one drawback of this system is that the drone requires 3D perception and AI capabilities.

Conclusion

As the future cloud-connected cities come into existence a greater need for connectivity will be required, not only to maintain safety but to process all the data and ensure a redundant program.