Dronets
Dronets, or drone networks, refer to distributed systems comprised of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that communicate with each other and possibly ground stations to coordinate sensing, actuation, and data processing across a shared area. In a dronet, individual drones act as nodes in a wireless network, enabling collaborative tasks beyond the capabilities of a single aircraft.
Typical architectures include ad hoc aerial mesh networks, hierarchical structures with a lead drone or ground
Key capabilities include cooperative sensing and mapping, distributed mission planning, redundancy and resilience through multi-node coverage,
Major challenges involve maintaining reliable communication in cluttered or interference-prone airspace, latency and energy constraints, collision
Research and industry see dronets as enabling more efficient search and rescue, faster data collection, and
See also: unmanned aerial vehicle, wireless mesh network, swarm robotics, airspace management.