On the Concepts and Challenges of Flying Ad hoc Networks (FANET)

Open Access

Abstract

As a result of technological advances on robotic systems, electronic sensors, and communication techniques, the production of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems has become possible. Their easy installation and flexibility led these UAV systems to be used widely in both the military and civilian applications. Note that the capability of one UAV is however limited. Nowadays, a multi-UAV system is of special interest due to the ability of its associate UAV members either to coordinate simultaneous coverage of large areas or to cooperate to achieve common goals / targets. This kind of cooperation / coordination requires reliable communication network with a proper network model to ensure the exchange of both control and data packets among UAVs. Such network models should provide all-time connectivity to avoid the dangerous failures or unintended consequences. Thus, the multi-UAV system relies on communication to operate. In this paper, current literature about multi-UAV system regarding its concepts and challenges is presented. Also, both the merits and drawbacks of the available networking architectures and models in a multi-UAV system are presented. Flying Ad Hoc Network (FANET) is moreover considered as a sophisticated type of wireless ad hoc network among UAVs, which solved the communication problems into other network models. Along with the FANET unique features, challenges and open issues are also discussed.