Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Introductory Course: Basics->Connectivity-

>Control

Lecturer(s): Tero Vuorenmaa (Robots Expert Finland Ltd), Assoc. Prof. S. Andreev
(TAU), Dr. Miguel Ángel (CATEC)/Prof. Vincenzo Lippiello (CREATE)
Date: Autumn 2021
Place: Online

Abstract
The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and autonomous robots feature the potential of enabling
many novel services and businesses and will become the indispensable component of many
verticals, including future smart cities, agriculture, industrial and communication to list just a few. The
number of commercial drones sold in 2019 in the United States alone approached 400 000 units and
is expected to grow by approximately 50% every year, thus making drones one of the most fast-
growing markets of today. At the very same time, the legislative base for drone's use worldwide, and,
notably, the EU undergoes a dramatic transformation, providing the new openings for enabling a
new level of autonomy for the drones. These drastic changes make the drones the disruptive
technology next to none, and attract to drones the attention from Academy and Industry alike.
The fundamental goal of the "Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Introductory Course: Basics-
>Connectivity->Control" intensive course is to provide the participating PhD and MSc students with
the state-of-the-art knowledge about the drones, their capabilities and use cases, the recent
updates in the regulations and legislations on their design and use, as well as equip the students
with the knowledge on the perspective technologies, challenges and the recent research trends and
results for drone-to-any connectivity and control of individual drones and their groups. Due to its
multidisciplinary nature, the course is subdivided into the three sequential sessions, each dealing
with a different aspect of drone's operation and given by an invited expert from Industry or Academy.

Specifically, the first session to be delivered by the expert from Industry (Mr Tero Vuorenmaa,
Robots Expert Finland Ltd, a collaborator of H2020 5G!Drones project) will introduce the students
to the world of drones, discuss their types, design dimensions and the respective trade-offs, as well
as provide insight into the certifications and regulations related to the design and the practical use
of UAVs, with the focus on the ones in force in Finland and the EU. The discussions will be illustrated
by the presentation and discussion of the real-life examples and drone applications in the
development of which the lecturer has been involved.

The second session will focus on the connectivity of the drones and their groups (swarms) and will
be delivered by Associate Professor, Academy of Finland Research Fellow, and a member of the
Research Alliance for Autonomous Systems (RAAS) Dr. Sergey Andreev from the Tampere
University (TAU). The common vision of today is that the UAVs will not only be the consumers for
the connectivity services but also become a component of the 6G (especially the mmWave-based)
mobile communication infrastructure of the future. Meanwhile, the collaborative drone missions and
the drone swarms introduce many novel challenges on how the connectivity should be provided.

The third session will focus on the control of the single drones and of their groups, and discuss the
solutions and technologies enabling their autonomous operation and decision making. Dr. Miguel
Ángel (CATEC Center for Advanced Aerospace Technologies, CATEC, Spain) and/or Prof.
Vincenzo Lippiello (Universita' degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, CREATE, Italy) will introduce on a
practical level how to develop a drone and harness it with versatile sensoring systems and capacity
to do manipulative and other force-controlled operations. As a part of the course, some hands-on
experiments will also be arranged. Since COVID-19 is still ongoing, the possibility of arranging these
in simulation environment (Matlab/Gazebo and others) will be considered.
Tentative schedule
The course will be organized as a hybrid event composed of the face-to-face and online
lectures (alternatively – online-only, should the COVID-19 situation and
University of Oulu, regional and national recommendations prevent face-to-face teaching).
The course will be composed of the three series of lectures (6+6+8 teaching hours) delivered
by the invited speakers, exercise session (6 hours, organized on-situ or online using
simulators, depending on the COVID-19 situation) allowing students to get hand-on
experience of drone manipulation, self-study by the students, and the final exam. The
proposed course targets both PhD and MSc students of the different backgrounds
(electronics, communication, etc.). Due to its broad coverage and multidisciplinary nature,
the course will benefit multiple ITEE units (BISG, CWC-NS, CWC-RT,UBICOMP, …).
Notably, the course will also support and allow to identify the prospective candidates
for a number of the ongoing drone-focused research activities and projects ongoing within
the ITEE, including but not limited to H2020 5G!Drones, Academy of Finland RoboMesh and
FUAVE, and Dronemaster actions.

Session 1: invited lecturer Mr. Tero Vuorenmaa, Robots Drone basics: drone types, design dimensions
Expert Finland Ltd and the respective trade-offs,
certifications and regulations related to the design
and the practical use of
Day 1, 6 hours UAVs, real-life applications and examples

Session 2: invited lecturer Assoc. Prof. Sergey Andreev, Connectivity for drones and through drones:
TAU and RAAS communication scenarios and
architectures for drones and drone swarms,
drone connectivity ecosystem
and its unique features, requirements and
technologies, recent research
Day 2, 6 hours trends, research and technical challenges.

Session 3: invited lecturers Dr. Miguel Ángel Control and autonomous operation of drones:
(CATEC)/Prof. Vincenzo Lippiello (CREATE) harnessing a UAV with
sensors, control and navigations, localization.
Basics for UAV manipulation.
Day 3, 8 hours Basics for controlling multiple drones.

Session 4: hands-on/simulated exercises: invited lecturer Hands-on (simulation) exercises to allow students
Dr. Miguel Ángel (CATEC)/Prof. to experience individual
Vincenzo Lippiello (CREATE) drones and multiple drones manipulation. Format
and implementation of the
session will be decided based on the COVID
Day 4, 6 hours situation.

Learning outcomes:
After completing the course, a student will:
- Learn what types of drones do exist, what applications employ drones today and how,
and what do the current and prospective legislations dictate regarding the use of drones.
- Understand the specifics of the drone connectivity ecosystem and landscape and know
the basic of the underlying technologies and the main trade-offs associated with the
different alternatives
- Understand localization, navigation and utilization of different sensoring systems for
various UAV and robotic applications
- Have a basic idea of manipulation activities for a UAV and controlling multiple drones,
and the associated with these challenges and trade-offs