Service-Oriented Architectures for a Flexible and Safe Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are becoming widely used for supporting multiple heterogeneous missions, requiring continuous evolution and adaptation of the implemented services. This scenario calls for the definition of architectural abstractions that support the integration of service-variants, in particular the notion of SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture) for services composition, to fulfill application-specified performance and dependability requirements. In this paper, we discuss the problems of using SOA (a non-deterministic approach) in UAVs (a real-time based embedded system) and the safety issues that such environment may raise. We then put forward a framework to tackle the identified challenges and propose potential solutions considering the opportunities and threats of using SOA in UAVs.