British engineers are preparing to test technology for sending data across an airborne network of civilian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The wireless communication system is designed to allow a UAV to securely send video footage and other information to its ground-based operator at the highest possible speed, even when it is out of direct range. It is the latest technology to emerge from the aerospace industry ASTRAEA programme, alongside a device for sensing and avoiding vehicles in commercial airspace that is also undergoing testing. 'If you have critical, time-sensitive data, there's no point having it locked on the aircraft. You have to have a mechanism to get it to its intended end user,' said project manager David Rees from defence firm Cassidian, speaking at the ASTRAEA national conference on 7 September 2011.
展开▼
