IEEE Working Group to Develop Aerial Communications and Networking Standards

IEEE and the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA), announced the formation of the IEEE Aerial Network Communications Working Group. Members of the new working group, working under the sponsorship of the IEEE Communications Society Standards Development Board (COM/SDB), will initially launch project IEEE P1920.1 to develop standards to enhance the situational awareness of aircraft and enable air-to-air communications in an ad hoc aerial network that includes manned, unmanned, civil and commercial aircraft.

The growing utilization of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is driving a need to ensure safety through increased situational awareness and direct air-to-air communications for all types of aircraft. Creating standards for Aerial Network Communications brings many benefits, such as safer and more coordinated use of UAVs in emergency or natural disaster situations, greatly enhanced tracking of commercial and civil aircraft, and overall safer operation with more advanced collision avoidance data being shared directly between all aircraft.

Sponsored by the IEEE Communications Society, the IEEE Aerial Network Communications Working Group will hold their first formal meeting in September 2016 to open discussions on the IEEE P1920.1 project.