Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Internet of Things Simulator.

Abstract

Internet of Things (IoT) is the interconnection of physical objects embedded with electronics, software, sensors, network connectivity which enables these objects to collect and exchange data over internet. IoT utilizes the intelligent interface to connect the virtual world of information technology with the real world of objects and devices. These devices are not only installed on the earth, but many of them can be installed as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or drones. A UAV is an aircraft without a human pilot on board. It is controlled by a human on the ground via a remote device. It can also be controlled autonomously by using computers. It provides IoT services from the sky wherever needed. It is impractical to make real test before enough development is completed and mature versions of the software/hardware of the UAVs are achieve, which yields the necessity to design a simulator to mimic the real environment. Our Master's project, entitled "Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Internet of Things Simulator" is part of a research project within the MOSAIC research laboratory of the University of AALTO Finland, and CERIST research center, which aims to exploit the advantages of drones and to benefit from them by using them to offer many value-added services, in particular in the field of Internet of Things (IoT) and sensors. Our project has been focusing on designing and implementing a simulator to test and evaluate the different results of a mission of a drone. First, a set of concept related to the simulator has been studied, then different modules of the desired simulator including the mobility of drones, data collection, and communication have been developed, implemented and tested. The results show that our implementation offers a tool that helps developers to test the feasibility of scenarios and make future decisions on the different scenarios of the simulator before proceeding on to launching missions or even making some real test. Key words : Internet of Things (IoT), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), drones, mission, mobility, data collection, communication.