RC Function Virtualization - You Can Remote Control Drone Squadrons

This poster presents a virtual control interface for Unmanned Vehicle System (UVS), to improve scalability and accessibility of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in their maneuvering. After the first remote control vehicle was born, the remote control unit was paired with a single vehicle for safety and security. To overcome this constrained remote control design, we propose a concept that a single manufacturing stand-alone RC can control one or several unmanned vehicles (UVs), regardless of vehicle type, named RC Function Virtualization (RFV). We can abstract the RC input to a high-level set of control commands and apply it to the numerous types of UVs connected through a wireless network. Our contribution is the separation of the RC and UV pairs so that the user can control all types of UVs even mixed types of UVs. We implemented the prototype of the RFV system, and demonstrated with Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV), Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV), and the combinations of them, with only one RC.