OSM PoC 10 Automated Deployment of an IP Telephony Service on UAVs using OSM

Abstract

The Network Function Virtualization (NFV) paradigm is one of the key-enabling technologies in the development of the 5th generation of mobile networks. This technology aims at lessening the dependence on hardware in the provision of network functions and services by using virtualization techniques that allow the softwarization of those functionalities over an abstraction layer. In this context, there is increasing interest in exploring the potential of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to offer a flexible platform capable of enabling cost-effective NFV operations over delimited geographic areas.

To demonstrate the practical feasibility of utilizing NFV technologies in UAV platforms, the PoC presents a functional NFV environment based on open source technologies, in which a set of small UAVs onboard the computational resources that support the deployment of moderately complex network services. In particular, the PoC showcases the automatic deployment of an IP telephony service through OSM over a network of interconnected UAVs, leveraging the capacities of the configured NFV environment.