Our increasingly complex society relies on an interconnected network of systems, each responsible for carrying out its own role effectively. The most important components within the systems of systems are called critical systems.

Critical systems are defined by the cost of their failure; critical systems are called as such because their failure will lead to loss of life, destruction of the system, or failure for the organization. Not every critical system, however, needs to be part of a large international organization. Some of the systems we deploy are:

Drone Swarm.

Swarm drones are the indigenous drone machines that are capable of surveillance and of performing attack missions.

The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. Revelations 9: 7 – 10.

Militaries around the world have recognized the effectiveness of both swarming and drones, and now understand the potential of drone swarms.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.

UAVs could be controlled remotely from a controller, a computer, or a mobile device. They have been used in precision agriculture for various purposes such as agrospraying. Besides saving man hours associated with manual spraying of pesticides or herbicides, the health risks associated with exposure to chemicals are also addressed by the use of UAVs in agrospraying. UAVs have also been used in real-time image and video capturing of crops for timely intervention in agricultural processes as well as for farm security. A study conducted by Norasma et al. indicated that UAVs offer low-cost options when compared to other sensing technologies and data analytics in mainstream medium- to large-scale deployments. Key advantages of UAVs include their noninvasiveness, extensiveness, flexibility, and timeliness. Through the deployment of UAVs, information on soil properties of farmlands could be remotely surveyed, obtained, and analyzed for decision making.

UAVs are also deployed in military operations. They are guided autonomously, by remote control, or both. They have sensors, target designators, offensive ordnance, or electronic transmitters designed to interfere with or destroy enemy targets. Unencumbered by crew, life-support systems, and the design-safety requirements of manned aircraft, UAVs can be remarkably efficient, offering substantially greater range and endurance than equivalent manned systems.