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Designed for students with proficiency of at least advanced low in Spanish and English; does not assume prior translation experience. Provides a basic introduction to selected techniques for translating written narratives, subtitling videos, and localizing videogames. Through these activities, students develop their bilingual communication skills as well as creative problem solving and critical thinking. Activities build in complexity.

This textbook is an amalgamation of material licensed under Creative Commons and publicly available resources. Materials include online textbooks, YouTube videos, and other materials published online. The text focuses on issues that impact families in the U.S.

The intent of the material presented is to provide information regarding the inequities that exist in the U.S, and their impact on families. Having an awareness of these issues and reflecting on them, especially in regards to our role in dismantling these inequities and promoting and advocating for social justice is crucial when working with families.

It is imperative that we approach the material presented with an open mind and -heart, listen for and feel the struggle of the disenfranchised, and allow ourselves to be impassioned to go beyond being an ally and instead serve as an accomplice. Being an accomplice means using one’s privileged position to create space for the marginalized, working alongside them to effect systemic change.

It further means being willing to bear the cost of discomfort because real advocacy is not restful. And until we know what the oppressed are up against and how it affects them, and the role we play in perpetuating oppression, we can’t honestly begin to effect change. I thank the authors whose contributions provide us the opportunity to explore, learn and grow.

Unmanned Vehicle Systems & Operations on Air, Sea & Land is the author’s fourth textbook in a series covering the world of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (CUAS). Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the Cyber Domain: Protecting USA’s Advanced Air Assets, 2nd edition and Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems Technologies and Operations have seen considerable global recognition in the field.  (Nichols R. , et al., 2019) (Nichols R. , et al., 2020) (Nichols R. K., 2018)

 

The authors have expanded our purview beyond UAS / CUAS systems. Our title shows our concern for growth and unique cyber security unmanned vehicle technology and operations for Unmanned Vehicles Systems in all theaters: Air, Sea and Land – especially maritime cybersecurity and China proliferation issues.  

Three different factors have spurred the authors into expanding our textbook offerings. First, unmanned technology has seen an economic explosion in production, sales, testing, specialized designs, and friendly / hostile usages of deployed UAS / UAVs / Drones / UUVs / UDV / UGTs (hereafter referred to as a group as UVs). There is a huge global growing market and entrepreneurs know it. Small UV companies have been reproducing like rabbits. Many companies are exploring / creating new, unique, and profitable unmanned technologies for  all military branches, LEO, commercial, high-mountain and deep-sea rescue, and recreational purposes. Covid-19 has brought a new dimension to UV planning and designs for medical and rescue missions.

Second, hostile use of UVs is on the forefront of DoD defense and offensive planners. They are especially concerned with SWARM behaviors in the air, over land and a new threat of underwater.  The influence of IoT, AI and Cyber technologies has complicated the defense planning mission.

Third, UV technology has outpacing our first and second editions plus our textbook on CUAS. Everyday our writers group read / discussed new UAS / UV developments in navigation, weapons, surveillance, data transfer, fuel cells, stealth, weight distribution, tactics, GPS / GNSS ( and replacement technologies) elements, SCADA protections, privacy invasions, legislation, big-data usage, terrorist uses, cryptographic protections, pressure protection for deep water exploration, maintenance, rescue or intelligence gathering; ASW, and defense; specialized software and security protocols and more. As authors we felt compelled to address at least the edge of some of these new UV developments. It was clear that we would be lucky if we could cover some of the more interesting and priority technology updates for the various UV AOs.

Expanded purview means more experience was needed to write our newest work. We are privileged to add to original writing team of Nichols, Ryan, Mumm, Lonstein, Carter, and Hood new SMEs in the various UV technologies: Mai, Jackson, and Shay. Their extensive backgrounds are found in our tribute to the authors in a latter section.

Here is an outline of topics in our latest work:

SECTION 1: UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS

 

Chapter 1 Information Advances, Remote ID, & Extreme Persistence ISR [Ryan]

Chapter 2 : Unmanned Aerial Vehicles & How They Can Augment Mesonet Weather Tower Data Collection [Mai]

Chapter 3 Tour de Drones for the Discerning Palate [Nichols]

 

SECTION 2: UNMANNED UNDERWATER SYSTEMS

 

Chapter 4 Underwater Autonomous Navigation & other UUV Advances [Mumm]

Chapter 5 Autonomous Maritime Asymmetric Systems [Hood]

Chapter 6 UUV Integrated Autonomous Missions & Drone Management [Mumm]

Chapter 7 Principles of Naval Architecture Applied to UUV’s [Jackson]

 

SECTION 3: UNMANNED VEHICLES FOR GROUND / LAND OPERATIONS

 

Chapter 8 : Unmanned Logistics Operating Safely & Efficiently Across Multiple Domains [Lonstein]

Chapter 9 Chinese Advances in Stealth UAV Penetration Path Planning in Combat Environment [Nichols]

 

SECTION 4: UNMANNED VEHICLES WEAPONS FOR C4ISR & POPULATION TRACKING  & CONTROL

 

Chapter 10 UAS, the Fourth Amendment and Privacy [Shay]

Chapter 11 UV & Disinformation / Misinformation Channels [Ryan]

 

SECTION 5: UV GEOPOLITICAL & LEGAL ADVANCES

Chapter 12  Chinese UAS Proliferation along New Silk Road Sea / Land Routes [Carter]

 

Chapter 13 Automaton, AI, Law, Ethics, Crossing the Machine – Human Barrier [Lonstein]

Chapter 14 Maritime Cybersecurity [Nichols]

 

Unmanned Vehicle Systems  are an integral part of the US national critical infrastructure The authors have endeavored to bring a breadth and quality of information to the reader that is unparalleled in the unclassified sphere. Unmanned Vehicle (UV) Systems & Operations On Air, Sea, Land discusses state-of-the-art technology / defense issues facing U.S. UV system researchers / designers / manufacturers / testers.

 

 

We trust our newest look at Unmanned Vehicles in Air , Sea and Land  will enrich our students and readers understanding of the purview of this wonderful technology we call UV.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems are an integral part of the US national critical infrastructure. The authors have endeavored to bring a breadth and quality of information to the reader that is unparalleled in the unclassified sphere. This textbook will fully immerse and engage the reader / student in the cyber-security considerations of this rapidly emerging technology that we know as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The first edition topics covered National Airspace (NAS) policy issues, information security (INFOSEC), UAS vulnerabilities in key systems (Sense and Avoid / SCADA), navigation and collision avoidance systems, stealth design, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms; weapons systems security; electronic warfare considerations; data-links, jamming, operational vulnerabilities and still-emerging political scenarios that affect US military / commercial decisions.

This second edition discusses state-of-the-art technology issues facing US UAS designers. It focuses on counter unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) – especially research designed to mitigate and terminate threats by SWARMS. Topics include high-altitude platforms (HAPS) for wireless communications; C-UAS and large scale threats; acoustic countermeasures against SWARMS and building an Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) acoustic library; updates to the legal / regulatory landscape; UAS proliferation along the Chinese New Silk Road Sea / Land routes; and ethics in this new age of autonomous systems and artificial intelligence (AI).

This book focuses on three important elements in the development of cereal and legume crops in semi-arid West Africa. The first section illustrates the socioeconomic factors that affect the food system for these crops and contains an overview of crop production and consumption in the region. Then, important inputs that affect system productivity are presented: preferences for new seed varieties, yield response to fertilizer, counterfeit herbicides, climate information, and the way farmers develop expectations about the weather events that shape cropping outcomes. The final chapter of section one is dedicated to understanding urban consumer preferences for processed food products derived from pearl millet.

The second section addresses the state of the art of phenotyping and the modeling of crop adaptation to dryland farming systems. Chapters in section two focus on the regional network for phenotyping, high throughput phenotyping in field situations, root architectures, and crop ideotypes. In addition, empirical evidence is presented on root and soil interactions and the effectiveness of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs to assess sorghum physiology.

Finally, the third section investigates the genetic diversity and improvement of dryland crops. Chapters in this section focus on biodiversity and agricultural system sustainability, orphan crops such as fonio, and the utilization of a regional germplasm collection in the improvement of cowpea, groundnut, pearl millet, and sorghum.

SPACE SYSTEMS: EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND OPERATIONS is our seventh textbook in a series covering the world of UASs / CUAS/ UUVs. Other textbooks in our series are Drone Delivery of CBNRECy – DEW Weapons: Emerging Threats of Mini-Weapons of Mass Destruction and Disruption (WMDD); Disruptive Technologies with applications in Airline, Marine, Defense Industries; Unmanned Vehicle Systems & Operations On Air, Sea, Land; Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems Technologies and Operations;  Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the Cyber Domain: Protecting USA’s Advanced Air Assets, 2nd edition; and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the Cyber Domain Protecting USA’s Advanced Air Assets, 1st edition. Our previous six titles have received considerable global recognition in the field. (Nichols & Carter, 2022) (Nichols et al., 2021) (Nichols R. K. et al., 2020) (Nichols R. et al., 2020) (Nichols R. et al., 2019) (Nichols R. K., 2018)

Our seventh title takes on a new purview of Space. Let’s think of Space as divided into four regions. These are Planets, solar systems, the great dark void (which fall into the purview of astronomers and astrophysics), and the Dreamer Region. The earth, from a measurement standpoint, is the baseline of Space. It is the purview of geographers, engineers, scientists, politicians, and romantics. Flying high above the earth are Satellites. Military and commercial organizations govern their purview. The lowest altitude at which air resistance is low enough to permit a single complete, unpowered orbit is approximately 80 miles (125 km) above the earth’s surface. Normal Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite launches range between 99 miles (160 km) to 155 miles (250 km). Satellites in higher orbits experience less drag and can remain in Space longer in service. Geosynchronous orbit is around 22,000 miles (35,000 km). However, orbits can be even higher. UASs (Drones) have a maximum altitude of about 33,000 ft (10 km) because rotating rotors become physically limiting. (Nichols R. et al., 2019) Recreational drones fly at or below 400 ft in controlled airspace (Class B, C, D, E) and are permitted with prior authorization by using a LAANC or DroneZone. Recreational drones are permitted to fly at or below 400 ft in Class G (uncontrolled) airspace. (FAA, 2022) However, between 400 ft and 33,000 ft is in the purview of DREAMERS.

In the DREAMERS region, Space has its most interesting technological emergence. We see emerging technologies and operations that may have profound effects on humanity. This is the mission our book addresses. We look at the Dreamer Region from three perspectives:1) a Military view where intelligence, jamming, spoofing, advanced materials, and hypersonics are in play; 2) the Operational Dreamer Region; which includes Space-based platform vulnerabilities, trash, disaster recovery management, A.I., manufacturing, and extended reality; and 3) the Humanitarian Use of Space technologies; which includes precision agriculture wildlife tracking, fire risk zone identification, and improving the global food supply and cattle management.

Here’s our book’s breakdown:

SECTION 1 C4ISR and Emerging Space Technologies. C4ISR stands for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and  Reconnaissance. Four chapters address the military: Current State of Space Operations; Satellite Killers and Hypersonic Drones; Space Electronic Warfare, Jamming, Spoofing, and ECD; and the challenges of Manufacturing in Space.

SECTION 2: Space Challenges and Operations covers in five chapters a wide purview of challenges that result from operations in Space, such as Exploration of Key Infrastructure Vulnerabilities from Space-Based Platforms; Trash Collection and Tracking in Space; Leveraging Space for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management; Bio-threats to Agriculture and Solutions From Space; and rounding out the lineup is a chapter on Modelling, Simulation, and Extended Reality.

SECTION 3: Humanitarian Use of Space Technologies is our DREAMERS section. It introduces effective use of Drones and Precision Agriculture; and Civilian Use of Space for Environmental, Wildlife Tracking, and Fire Risk Zone Identification.

SECTION 3 is our Hope for Humanity and Positive Global Change. Just think if the technologies we discuss, when put into responsible hands, could increase food production by 1-2%. How many more millions of families could have food on their tables?

State-of-the-Art research by a team of fifteen SMEs is incorporated into our book. We trust you will enjoy reading it as much as we have in its writing. There is hope for the future.