DMAV: Enhanced MAV Link Protocol Using Dynamic DNA Coding for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Abstract

In the modern era, new and innovative ways of securing data and communications are continuously developing. One such recent development is using the concept of DNA as a means of data encryption. In this work, we propose a new approach to encrypt data and communications on the MAVLink protocol for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) using a lightweight GIFT algorithm and dynamic DNA coding (with binary bits). MAVLink is a communication protocol for UAVs, which is currently unencrypted and can easily be intercepted by anyone. As such, a secure MAVLink protocol has long been needed in the UAV industry. We describe a novel secure communication protocol for UAVs using dynamic DNA coding to encrypt MAVLink packets, which we call DMAV. Experimental results show that this novel means of securing the MAVLink protocol performs better than the traditional method (i.e., using public and private key cryptography). Therefore, the proposed approach could potentially change the way secure communications are conducted between UAVs in the future.