Policy-based radios for UAS operations

Unmanned aircraft systems need sufficient radio spectrum for remote command and control, payload operation, and flight safety. Spectrum is a scarce resource and unmanned aircraft operators cannot depend on new spectrum allocations. Though all spectrum is already allocated, paradoxically, most spectrum goes unused at any given time. This unused spectrum is a complex patchwork over time and space that cannot be accessed with ordinary radios. A policy-based radio is a type of cognitive radio technology that is guided by so-called policies of what spectrum is available when and where and under what conditions. This paper describes the enabling role that policy-based radios can have for unmanned aircraft systems to have safe, efficient, and reliable access to the spectrum. It describe how they can be adapted to meet the unique spectrum challenges of unmanned aircraft and provides analysis and examples to show that they may be able to provide additional spectrum.