Cross-Platform Secure & Intelligent UAV Ground Control Station (GCS) image

Cross-Platform Secure & Intelligent UAV Ground Control Station (GCS)

Project Overview

Bachelor's research project on a patent-pending UAV control system featuring secure AES-128 communication and intelligent stability assessment, published in IEEE IES 2022.

Skills Used

STM32 (C / C++) C# / Xamarin.Forms (cross-platform) AES-128 encryption Fuzzy inference system UART / serial communication UDP networking MAVLink

Overview

Developed as part of my bachelor’s thesis research, later published in IEEE International Electronics Symposium (IES) 2022.

Publication: DOI: 10.1109/IES55876.2022.9888714

User Empathy Map

This shows what the User of a GCS Thinks & Feels, Hears, Sees, and Says & Does. Serves as the challenges to be addressed.

Empathy Map

Key Features

Security & Communication

  • AES-128 Encryption: Hardware-accelerated
  • Dual Communication Modes:
    • Radio Telemetry: Long-distance
    • Wi-Fi/UDP: Low-latency short-range
  • MAVLink: Industry-standard UAV communication protocol
Empathy Map

Intelligent Flight Management

Real-Time Stability Assessment

A Flight Stability Detection using linear regression analysis

  • Monitors attitude changes over sliding window
  • Visual stability indicators:
    • Critical (Red): Very tilted
    • Warning (Yellow): Tilted
    • Stable: No warning

Return-Time Prediction

A Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) with input variables:

  • Battery percentage
  • Distance from ‘home’
  • Altitude
  • Output: Visualization of estimated remaining return time window.

User Interface

Cross-Platform Support

With Xamarin.Forms to run on Windows (UWP) and Android.

Real-time Avionic Displays

  • Artificial Horizon: pitch and roll
  • Altimeter: Current altitude
  • Compass: Magnetic-pole bearing/heading
  • GPS Map: Live position tracking
  • Signal Strength: Communication quality
Empathy Map

Technical Implementation

Empathy Map

Architecture

Embedded System (STM32):

  • Hardware AES-128 crypto acceleration
  • UART communication with radio telemetry or ESP Serial-WiFi bridge
  • Real-time sensor data processing

GCS UI App:

  • Language: C#/.NET
  • Framework: Xamarin.Forms
  • Platform Services:
    • Serial port (USB/UART)
    • UDP socket
  • Libraries:
    • FLS (Fuzzy Logic Sharp) for fuzzy inference
    • MAVLink.NET for protocol

Fuzzy Logic Implementation

The FIS uses Center of Gravity (CoG) defuzzification with:

  • Battery membership: Kritikal, Low, Medium, High
  • Distance membership: Dekat, Sedang, Jauh
  • Altitude membership: Rendah, Sedang, Tinggi
  • Output function: S-shaped curve for smooth transitions

Rule Example:

IF Battery IS Critical THEN Return Time IS Immediate
IF Battery IS Low AND Distance IS Far AND Altitude IS High THEN Return Time IS High Priority

Full Demonstration

GitHub Repository

This description is written with help of AI tools, but the project IS NOT. You can verify the source codes via the provided links where available.