The conceptual view of unmanned aerial vehicle implementation as a mobile communication node of active data transmission network

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose the basis for the unification of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) group control protocols for the fast deployment of communication network on territories unsuitable for stationary nodes placement. Design/methodology/approach The paper proposes the application of active data (AD) conception in which the data exist in a form of executable code allowing data packets to control its own propagation through network. The implementation is illustrated for some scenarios of UAV data communication network deployment, i.e., transmission of the AD using navigation functions and dynamic reconfiguration of the nodes. Findings The conception of AD expands the range of possible UAV group operations due to on-the-fly adaptation abilities to changes in existing or forthcoming group behavior protocols. This allows the real-time change of data transmission formats, frequency ranges, modulation types, radio network topologies which, in turn, provides the ability to dynamically form the special data transmission networks from a general purpose device temporarily reconfiguring them for data transmission task between transmitter and receiver beyond radio visibility range. Practical implications The paper includes use cases for some situation of UAV data communication network deployment. Originality/value The paper aims to expand the UAV group control principles by implementing by rapid adaptation to changes in existing or forthcoming group behavior protocols.