Work in Progress: Developing Undergraduate Research Experiences in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Cybersecurity

During the fall 2020 semester, nine students were recruited to participate in a UAS cybersecurity-focused undergraduate research experience. Three faculty members each identified a small topic area for undergraduate students to pursue. The three areas are: 1. Small UAS (sUAS) Vulnerability and Threat Assessment and Mitigation 2. Effects of Cyber Attacks on Communication in UAS Swarms with Distributed Swarm Control 3. Enhancing Security of Cloud-Connected UAS Services Students were placed onto teams based on their prior course experiences and the project requirements. Common resources were provided for all students to train them in conducting research. Teams were then tasked with developing a more comprehensive research plan for their specific project and carrying out that plan throughout the 2020-2021 academic year. Students completed a pre-survey at the start of the project and a mid-project survey shortly after the winter break. The surveys combined project specific skills questions as well as relevant questions from the Undergraduate Research Student Self-Assessment (URSSA), an NSF-funded assessment tool to measure student gains in research skills. This work-in-progress paper will describe the broader project, the individual student team projects, the research training materials, and some of the results from the pre- and mid-project surveys. Additional discussion will be had regarding the COVID-related precautions implemented by both the institution and the project teams. The purpose of this paper is to provide an example approach for future undergraduate research programs looking for practical approaches to implementing undergraduate research programs, particularly those in the cybersecurity area.