What do All Those Acronyms Mean?! Understanding Unmanned Systems

UAVs, ROVs, UUSs, RPAs: How do unmanned systems experts keep it all straight? The scope of unmanned systems is greater than just the word “drone.” Defining the difference and the language surrounding unmanned systems is important for anyone serious about operating one.

According to Capitol Technology University's Dr. Richard Baker, an unmanned system is defined as, “any electromechanical system which has the ability to carry out a predetermined or described task, or a portion of that task, and do it automatically with limited or no human intervention.”

Unmanned systems can operate in a variety of different atmospheres and perform tasks ranging from agricultural work to planet exploration. “They can be used in the air, on the ground, in the water or below the water, or in space to do many kinds of things. But these are basically mobile guided vehicles that put a sensor someplace or deliver a package,” says Dr. Baker.

“They can be operated in a few different ways as well,” he continues, “An unmanned vehicle, which doesn’t contain a person, can be what we call teleoperated, which means that they are operated remotely by either a radio frequency or a tether, a cable. They can be autonomous, run on their own; they’re programmed to do what they’re doing. And they typically deploy a payload which can either be a sensor or an actuator. Actuator being like, you’ve seen the robots with little fingers or tongs that pick up things.”

Unmanned systems are typically deployed to do things that people either can’t do or shouldn’t do. “Putting an unmanned system in a dangerous position, or someplace that we can substitute it for people doing something that’s a repetitive or dull job is ideal. Using unmanned systems to do things that are dirty because it’s a hazardous environment is another good use of them. A nuclear power plant, or that sort of thing is where a robot would be good,” says Dr. Baker.

But now that what they are and why they are makes sense, what about all of those acronyms? Well here is a list of the terms you might hear the most often, and it’s simpler than it seems. Just take the first letter of each word in the system to get the acronym:

AUV – autonomous unmanned vehicles

UAVs - unmanned aerial vehicles

UAS - unmanned aircraft system

RPA - remotely piloted aircraft

UGS/ UGVs - unmanned ground systems, unmanned ground vehicles

USS - unmanned surface systems

UMS - unmanned marine systems

UUS/UUV - unmanned underwater system, unmanned underwater vehicle

ROVs - remotely operated vehicles, Dr. Baker notes that, “the ones under the water are usually referred to as ROVs.”

“They’ve been called drones,” says Dr. Baker, “but when you think drones, people usually think of either the military drones which are doing airstrikes that they’ve seen in the news, or the ones in your backyard flying around and surprising your neighbors.”

The term unmanned system defines a broader idea than the term drone currently does. We need to start thinking of them as more than just military equipment or miniature quadcopters used as toys, and see them as they are: vehicles capable of advancing our society into a safer, smarter future.

Capitol’s unmanned and autonomous systems programs are set to begin this Fall of 2018. To learn more about our programs, check out: Unmanned and Autonomous Systems and Unmanned and Autonomous Systems Policy and Risk Management.