Bleep

Abstract

Small unmanned autonomous vehicles (UAVs) swarms are becoming ubiquitous in a number of applications (e.g., surveying, monitoring, and situational awareness). Indoor environments may contain metal equipment that temporarily disrupts radio reception. During these momentary interruptions, a small UAV needs to be able to broadcast a 'heartbeat' to indicate that it is not damaged or lost. Considering alternative messaging modalities, we observe that light-based methods require line-of sight, which is not guaranteed when UAVs are moving through a cluttered environment, while a naive sound-based method is easily drowned out by the UAV's own loud motor and propeller noise.