Abstract
Communication and network are the critical issues for autonomous vehicles (AVs). Three main aspects will be illustrated in this chapter, including wireless communication, self-organizing network, and data transmission. As a typical representative of autonomous systems, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are the most widely used and numerous in military and civil fields, most of this chapter focuses on UAVs as technical research objects. Firstly, basic characteristics of wireless communication such as signal propagation and attenuation in different applications and other mobile communication issues for AVs, especially some new technologies, which are adaptable, will be presented. Secondly, the features of AVs network architecture and how to design it will be discussed, while the issues of self-organizing networks for AVs will be investigated. At last, typical data transmission methods such as DDS for AVs will be presented. Also, the critical factors that should be considered in designing the data transmission will be illustrated.