Overview

This unit aims to provide students with fundamental knowledge and critical understanding of UAV communication, navigation, and cybersecurity. Students will develop skills to design and evaluate effective and secure solutions for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), focusing on both line-of-sight (LOS) and beyond line-of-sight (BVLOS) communication and navigation scenarios.

Teaching periods
Location
Start and end dates
Last self-enrolment date
Census date
Last withdraw without fail date
Results released date
Semester 2
Location
Hawthorn
Start and end dates
03-August-2026
01-November-2026
Last self-enrolment date
16-August-2026
Census date
01-September-2026
Last withdraw without fail date
22-September-2026
Results released date
08-December-2026

Unit learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

  1. Explain fundamental principles and practices of UAV communication and navigation systems
  2. Evaluate different communication technologies and antenna designs for LOS and BVLOS operations
  3. Evaluate challenging problems in the guidance and navigation approaches for autonomous systems
  4. Identify cybersecurity threats specific to UAV systems and recommend suitable security measures
  5. Integrate cybersecurity principles into the design and operation of UAV communication and navigation systems

Teaching methods

All applicable locations

Activity Type Hours per week Number of weeks Total (number of hours)

On-Campus Class

 2 12 weeks 24
On-Campus Lecture 1 12 weeks 12
Online Learning Activities 1 12 weeks 12
Unspecified Learning Activities (Independent Learning) 8.5 12 weeks 102
Total     150

Assessment

Type Task Weighting ULOs
Assignment 1 Individual 30 - 40 % 1, 2
Assignment 2 Group 30 - 50 % 1, 2, 4, 5
Online Tests Individual 10 - 20 % 1, 2, 3, 4

Content

  • Overview of UAV communication systems: air-to-air, air-to-ground, and satellite communication
  • Navigation methodologies: GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), Inertial Navigation System (INS), terrain-based navigation, and collision avoidance techniques
  • Communication system design including antenna and propagation considerations (LOS/BVLOS)
  • Cybersecurity fundamentals, UAV-specific vulnerabilities, and risk mitigation techniques
  • Integration of UAV communication and navigation with cyber-secure operational practices

Study resources

Reading materials

A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.