In the Official Rules’ third Operational Use Case scenario (i.e., disaster in an urban environment; UAS inspection of area around survivors’ active cell phones), is it the responsibility of the UAS to locate active cellular devices? If so, is this UAS supposed to connect to active cellular devices? If the UAS is not to interact with Cellular devices themselves, what types of devices would be expected of the UAS to connect?

The sensors or “cell phone” endpoints we are looking for in UAS 6.0 will utilize Wi-Fi as the protocol for detecting and transferring data from the sensor to the UAS. The idea in UAS 6.0 is to use radio mapping or signal strength tracking methodologies to locate and find a sensor in the field, transfer data from the sensor to the UAS, and then have the UAS deliver that data to a command server where it can be processed and/or viewed. This capability is possible with cellular and other wireless protocols; however, since Wi-Fi is well known to most, readily available, and has fewer regulatory restrictions, we decided to use it as the protocol of choice in this experiment. The scenario you mention in this case is a hypothetical use case to help visualize the potential uses of this technology beyond this competition. As for the transfer method between the UAS and the Command Server, you may use any communications method you see fit, including cellular. However, it is not recommended to depend entirely on cellular for this transmission since we are replicating a disaster scenario. The idea is for the UAS to “ferry” the data from the sensor back to the command server in a scenario where internet access is limited to a single Command Center or Mission Control area. In Stage 3, the Command Server may be deployed locally (near the pilot) with no or limited internet access. A Wi-Fi access point will be available to “deliver” the data to the command server.