Serverless Protocols for Inventory and Tracking with a UAV

TL;DR

This paper proposes using serverless UAV-based protocols to improve inventory management, asset tracking, and safety at airports, enhancing operational efficiency and security with minimal human intervention.

Contribution

It introduces a novel serverless protocol framework for UAVs to efficiently inventory and track assets in airport environments, focusing on safety and operational improvements.

Findings

UAVs can effectively track sensitive assets at airports.

Serverless protocols reduce infrastructure costs.

Enhanced safety and efficiency in airport management.

Abstract

It is widely acknowledged that the proliferation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) may lead to serious concerns regarding avionics safety, particularly when end-users are not adhering to air safety regulations. There are, however, domains in which UAVs may help to increase the safety of airplanes and the management of flights and airport resources that often require substantial human resources. For instance, Paris Charles de Gaulle airport (CDG) has more than 7,000 staff and supports 30,000 direct jobs for more than 60 million passengers per year (as of 2016). Indeed, these new systems can be used beneficially for several purposes, even in sensitive areas like airports. Among the considered applications are those that suggest using UAVs to enhance safety of on-ground airplanes; for instance, by collecting (once the aircraft has landed) data recorded by different systems during the flight (like the sensors of the Aircraft Data Networks - ADN) or by examining the state of airplane structure. In this paper, our proposal is to use UAVs, under the control of the airport authorities, to inventory and track various tagged assets, such as luggage, supplies required for the flights, and maintenance tools. The aim of our proposal is to make airport management systems more efficient for operations requiring inventory and tracking, along with increasing safety (sensitive assets such as refueling tanks, or sensitive pieces of luggage can be tracked), thus raising financial profit.