Scalable Paradigm for Effective Autonomous Routing in SUAS-centric Networks (SPEAR)

Mayflower Communications Company, Inc. (Mayflower) proposes a novel technology, Scalable Paradigm for Effective Autonomous Routing (SPEAR), to meet the OSD"s objective, namely, to provide technology to enable autonomous routing for information exchange in the small unmanned aerial systems (SUAS) environment, including SUAS, ground nodes, as well as reachback capabilities. SPEAR is a cross-layer optimized routing solution that senses network and link performance on an ongoing basis and adaptively optimizes the configuration of the network, MAC and physical (PHY) layers in order to provide reliable network performances. Many UAS are small in size, are severely SWAP-constrained, and operate in scenarios with unpredictable connectivity. SPEAR offers a low-complexity and highly adaptable routing solution to assure resilient communication performance under the most challenging circumstances. The SPEAR solution, when proven feasible in the Phase I study for the OSD application, has enormous potential for military and commercial applications. Mayflower will develop a prototype SPEAR system in Phase I and II, and ensure its commercialization in Phase III and beyond.