A Survey on Control and Communication Protocols for Autonomous Aerial Vehicles
Authors :- A Garg, A Mehta
Publication :- TechRxiv, 2025
Autonomous Aerial Vehicles (AAVs) are becoming increasingly in demand for various applications, such as surveillance, disaster response, delivery services, agriculture, and various other applications. However, numerous challenges need to be addressed, particularly for control and communication protocols design. This paper presents a complete survey on communication and control protocols proposed in the literature till date for a reliable operations as individual and in a swarm. Additionally, it explores various AAVs controllers such as PID controller, Adaptive controller, sliding mode controller, state feedback controller, and data-driven controllers for achieving precise and efficient AAVs operations as an individual and collectively. It also presents the protocols of AAVs, including leaderfollower, virtual structure, behavior-based, consensus based, and AI-driven controllers. These controllers enable effective coordination, adaptability, and autonomy in AAVs operations, ensuring robust performance and scalability. The survey further highlights the contribution of advanced technologies, including Deep Neural Networks (DNNs), the Internet of Flying Things (IoFT), and the Internet of Drones (IoD), in improving AAVs autonomy and decision-making capabilities. However, as AAVs applications become more advanced, challenges like maintaining secure communication, managing network congestion, and achieving precise control remain significant. In last, this paper serves as a comprehensive overview of these technological advancements, addressing current solutions and future research opportunities.