An Open-Source Mixed-Reality Simulation Environment for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Cybersecurity
Primary Investigator:
Inseok Hwang
Zhanpeng Yang, Kartik Anand Pant, James Goppert
Abstract
The wide adoption of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in civilian and military applications requires rigorous testing and validation of UAS before deployment. However, due to regulations and physical limitations, real-world testing is difficult and expensive. A comprehensive simulation environment is necessary to allow UAS and cybersecurity researchers quickly iterate their designs and algorithms. To this end, we develop an open-source, mixed-reality enabled simulation testbed which combines hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) methods with software-in-the-loop (SITL) methods for verification and validation of UAS systems prior to their deployment. The test-bed uses an integrated mixed-reality approach with high-fidelity sensor emulation, which recreates the complex geometrical effects that occur in dense urban environments. It is packaged as an open-source implementation for easy prototyping and wider use in the UAS community.