Special Issues

Drones publishes Special Issues to create collections of papers on specific topics, with the aim of building a community of authors and readers to discuss the latest research and develop new ideas and research directions. Special Issues are led by Guest Editors, who are experts on the topic and all Special Issue submissions follow MDPI's standard editorial process. The journal’s Editor-in-Chief and/or designated Editorial Board Member will oversee Guest Editor appointments and Special Issue proposals, checking their content for relevance and ensuring the suitability of the material for the journal. The papers published in a Special Issue will be collected and displayed on a dedicated page of the journal’s website. Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies and Guest Editor responsibilities can be found here. For any inquiries related to a Special Issue, please contact the Editorial Office.

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When Deep Learning Meets Geometry for Air-to-Ground Perception on Drones: 2nd Edition
edited by , Yangliu Kuai, Hongqi Fan and Gongjian Wen
submission deadline 29 Jul 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 7222 | Submission Open
Keywords: object detection ; object tracking ; object localization ; object segmentation ; vision foundation models ; multimodal data processing
Wearable Technologies for Driving Drones: Innovations and Applications
edited by , and Bojan Jerbić
submission deadline 31 Jul 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 6592 | Submission Open
Keywords: wearable technology; drone control systems; human–drone interaction; bio-sensing; gesture recognition; haptic feedback; robotics; augmented reality (AR); virtual reality (VR); ergonomics in drone piloting
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Design and Development)
UAVs and UGVs Robotics for Emergency Response in a Changing Climate
edited by , Santos Miguel Orozco Soto and Christian Wankmüller
submission deadline 31 Jul 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 3403 | Submission Open
Keywords: unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs); robotics for hazardous environments; disaster robotics; human-robot teaming; search and rescue (SAR); emergency response automation; autonomous navigation; real-time situational awareness
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drones in Ecology)
Security-by-Design in UAVs: Enabling Intelligent Monitoring
edited by , Yi Zhou, and Lingling Lv
submission deadline 31 Jul 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 1589 | Submission Open
Keywords: multi-UAV systems; security-by-design; cybersecurity; relative localization; autonomous navigation; cooperative control; privacy protection; intelligent monitoring
(This special issue belongs to the Section Artificial Intelligence in Drones (AID))
Design and Development of UAV Systems for Logistics Networks and Operations submission deadline 31 Jul 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1551 | Submission Open
Keywords: UAV; advanced communication systems; cybersecurity; intelligent transportation; smart logistics; autonomous distribution; machine learning; integration with augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR); swarm systems; sensor intelligence
Advanced Autonomous Mobility Toward Low-Altitude Economy and Three-Dimensional Transportation Systems: 2nd Edition
edited by Xiangkun He, Hailong Huang, Caizheng Wang and Henglai Wei
submission deadline 31 Jul 2026 | Viewed by 609 | Submission Open
Keywords: autonomous aerial vehicles for urban air mobility; autonomous ground vehicles for smart cities; end-to-end autonomous ground and aerial vehicle technologies; AI and machine learning applications in 3D traffic management; cybersecurity and privacy concerns in connected aerial and ground mobility; autonomous multimodal mobility technologies; 3D transportation infrastructure planning and design; sensor technologies and perception systems for 3D transportation navigation; energy-efficient propulsion systems for aerial vehicles; human factors for aerial autonomous mobility
(This special issue belongs to the Section Innovative Urban Mobility)
Drones and the Internet of Things: Enabling Connected Airspace
edited by , Bernabe Matteo and Enrico Testi
submission deadline 31 Jul 2026 | Viewed by 379 | Submission Open
Keywords: UAV communications; internet of things; aerial networks; AI-native UAV systems; edge Computing for UAVs; network optimization for UAVs; non terrestrial networks; new architecture and services for UAV networks; secure UAV communications; massive multiple access for UAV networks; modulation and coding for UAV networks
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Communications)
Advances in Civil Applications of Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Third Edition
edited by , Fernando Veiga López and Enrique Aldao Pensado
submission deadline 3 Aug 2026 | 5 articles | Viewed by 4481 | Submission Open
Keywords: drones; surveying; unmanned aircraft systems; regulations; swarm; photogrammetry; remote sensing; earth observation; guidance, navigation, and control; aerodynamics
Resilient Networking and Task Allocation for Drone Swarms: 2nd Edition
edited by , and
submission deadline 10 Aug 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 8271 | Submission Open
Keywords: drone swarms; UAV ad hoc networks; swarm cooperative communications; swarm secure issues; swarm cooperative decision making
Advances in Perception, Communications, and Control for Drones: 2nd Edition submission deadline 16 Aug 2026 | 10 articles | Viewed by 17797 | Submission Open
Keywords: perception; drone communications; autonomous control; communication-oriented control; perception-aware control; drone swarms
Intelligent Cooperative Technologies of UAV Swarm Systems
edited by , and
submission deadline 20 Aug 2026 | 5 articles | Viewed by 4648 | Submission Open
Keywords: AI-enabled drones; intelligent perception and cognition; autonomous navigation and cooperative localization; AI-enabled decision-making and planning; countermeasures and confrontation; learning-based control and optimization; game-theoretical analysis; security and resilience
(This special issue belongs to the Section Artificial Intelligence in Drones (AID))
Computational Fluid Dynamics for Next-Generation Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
edited by , Fernando Veiga López and Elena Beatriz Martín Ortega
submission deadline 20 Aug 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 3537 | Submission Open
Keywords: computational fluid dynamics; urban air mobility; reduced order models; AI-enhanced flow prediction; wind turbulence; urban wind forecasting; microweather; wind gusts; wind-aware path planning
(This special issue belongs to the Section Innovative Urban Mobility)
Flight Control and Collision Avoidance of UAVs: 2nd Edition
edited by Rodney Swee Huat Teo and
submission deadline 20 Aug 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2980 | Submission Open
Keywords: artificial intelligence; autonomous navigation; collision avoidance; guidance systems; computer vision; obstacle detection; decision making under uncertainty; safety verification; robust control; multi-object tracking and association; visual servoing; conflict prediction; conflict resolution; collision checking; risk assessment
UAV Path Planning Algorithms for Surveillance and Reconnaissance in Civil Applications submission deadline 28 Aug 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2556 | Submission Open
Keywords: path planning algorithms; civil surveillance; reconnaissance missions; autonomous navigation; obstacle avoidance; multi-UAV systems; machine learning for navigation; deep reinforcement learning; real-time trajectory optimization; cooperative motion planning; sensor fusion; urban monitoring; disaster response; infrastructure inspection; rotary-wing, fixed-wing and convertible UAVs; ethics and regulation in UAV operations
Navigation, Control and Mission Planning Advances for Safe, Efficient and Autonomous Drones: 2nd Edition submission deadline 30 Aug 2026 | 5 articles | Viewed by 8413 | Submission Open
Keywords: drone; path following; navigation; control; machine learning; autonomy; UAV; spacecraft
UAV Swarm Intelligent Control and Decision-Making
edited by , and Bin Li
submission deadline 31 Aug 2026 | 11 articles | Viewed by 8072 | Submission Open
Keywords: intelligent decision-making; intelligent control; UAV swarms
(This special issue belongs to the Section Artificial Intelligence in Drones (AID))
Control, Planning, and Embodied Intelligence of Agile UAVs in Indoor Environments
edited by , and Lin Zhao
submission deadline 31 Aug 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 6721 | Submission Open
Keywords: autonomous guidance and navigation; agile UAVs; indoor navigation; agile control; perception-aware planning; embodied intelligence
Advances and Innovations in Drone Technology for Mining and Construction Applications submission deadline 31 Aug 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 6630 | Submission Open
Keywords: drone technology (or UAV/UAS); aerial surveying and mapping; mining automation; construction monitoring; AI and machine learning in drones; safety and hazard inspection; environmental rehabilitation; digitalization in industry; rescue robotics and robotic mapping (UAV and terrestrial)
Physical-Layer Security in Drone Communications—2nd Edition
edited by Dongming Li, and Yi Lou
submission deadline 31 Aug 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 4347 | Submission Open
Keywords: drone communications; physical-layer security; key generation; drone jitter; beamforming and jamming; trajectory planning
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Communications)
Hydrogen and Hybrid Propulsion Systems for UAV Applications
edited by , Onder Turan and
submission deadline 31 Aug 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1170 | Submission Open
Keywords: hydrogen propulsion and fuel cell system; hybrid-electric and fully electric UAVs; sustainable aviation and environmental impact assessment; propulsion system design, modeling, and optimization; energy management and power electronics; thermal management and heat transfer strategies; maintenance, reliability, and lifecycle assessment UAV operations, control, and performance evaluation; advanced manufacturing, materials, and smart structures
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Design and Development)
Drones and Machine Learning as a Complementary Tools in Wildlife Biology Studies
edited by and
submission deadline 20 Sep 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 22244 | Submission Open
Keywords: drones; machine learning; Yolo; DeepLabCut; IR Camera; artificial intelligence; behavioural studies
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drones in Ecology)
Intelligent Spectrum Management in UAV Communication
edited by Yu Zhang, Guoru Ding, , , Xumin Pu and
submission deadline 20 Sep 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 3619 | Submission Open
Keywords: intelligent spectrum management; UAV communications; spectrum sharing; cognitive radio; interference mitigation; intelligent spectrum sensing; AI-enabled wireless networks; UAV-assisted 5G/6G; non-terrestrial networks
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Communications)
Recent Advances in Healthcare Applications of Drones submission deadline 24 Sep 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 5047 | Submission Open
Keywords: drones in healthcare; unmanned medical logistics; emergency medical services; telemedicine
Detection, Identification and Tracking of UAVs and Drones: 2nd Edition
edited by Richard Han, VP Nguyen, Karthik Dantu and
submission deadline 25 Sep 2026 | 5 articles | Viewed by 4013 | Submission Open
Keywords: detection; tracking; identification; sensor fusion; artificial intelligence; machine learning; localization
Cross-Modal Autonomous Cooperation for Intelligent Unmanned Systems
edited by Xingling Shao, Ben Niu, Feisheng Yang, Ziquan Yu and
submission deadline 27 Sep 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2611 | Submission Open
Keywords: cross-modal perception; heterogeneous unmanned swarm; dynamic obstacle avoidance; human–robot collaboration; intelligent unmanned systems; autonomous navigation; energy management; security and privacy
Drones in Hydrological Research and Management submission deadline 30 Sep 2026 | 5 articles | Viewed by 12927 | Submission Open
Keywords: hydrological research; disaster management; image analysis; machine learning; sustainable development; water quality
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drones in Ecology)
Unmanned Aerial Systems for Geophysical Mapping and Monitoring submission deadline 30 Sep 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 5886 | Submission Open
Keywords: earth science; geophysics; magnetics; electromagnetic; gravity; GPR; hyperspectral; radiometrics; data processing; miniaturized sensors; sensor integration; UAS payload optimization; subsurface mapping
Intelligent Control and Optimization of Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
edited by Zongyang Lv, Qing Zhao and Hao Wei
submission deadline 30 Sep 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 5240 | Submission Open
Keywords: eVTOL; UAV; optimal control; intelligent control; nonlinear control; fault-tolerant control
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Design and Development)
Air–Ground Integrated Perception and Cooperative Control for UAVs and UGVs
edited by , Meng Li, Shuo Cheng, Qi Cao, Rui Shang and
submission deadline 30 Sep 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 2611 | Submission Open
Keywords: unmanned aerial vehicles; unmanned ground vehicles; air–ground integrated perception ; UAV–UGV cooperative systems; multi-agent collaborative control; AI-driven unmanned systems; autonomous transportation systems; multimodal perception and fusion
(This special issue belongs to the Section Artificial Intelligence in Drones (AID))
Intelligent Cooperative Control and Application of Unmanned Surface/Underwater Vehicles
edited by Lu Liu, , Maohan Liang and Yifan Xue
submission deadline 30 Sep 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 955 | Submission Open
Keywords: cooperative control; artificial intelligence; mission plan; distributed system; game optimization; formation control; collision avoidance; system identification; underwater navigation; visual servo control
(This special issue belongs to the Section Unmanned Surface and Underwater Drones)
Embodied Control Theory and Engineering for Autonomous Unmanned Systems
edited by , , Yizhuo Sun, and Chuanjiang Li
submission deadline 30 Sep 2026 | Viewed by 382 | Submission Open
Keywords: unmanned systems; large language models; intelligent control; state estimation; multi-agent systems; trajectory planning
(This special issue belongs to the Section Artificial Intelligence in Drones (AID))
Advances in Internet of Drones: Applications, Communication Infrastructures, Architectures, and Protocols for FANETs submission deadline 10 Oct 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 6154 | Submission Open
Keywords: Internet of Drones; FANET; architecture; aerial wireless networks; drone communication; swarm communication
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Communications)
Task-Oriented UAV Applications in Agro-Forestry and Livestock Systems submission deadline 16 Oct 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1396 | Submission Open
Keywords: unmanned aircraft systems (UASS); crop protection; UAV applications in agro-forestry; task-oriented UAV systems for agriculture; mission-driven drone design; agricultural aerial operations; UAV field validation in agricultural systems; autonomous aerial platforms for agriculture; precision aerial intervention; UAV payload integration; drone-based livestock management; UAV logistics and routing optimization in agriculture; agro-forestry and agro-energy applications
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drones in Agriculture and Forestry)
Advances in AI Large Models for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
edited by , and
submission deadline 20 Oct 2026 | 6 articles | Viewed by 11560 | Submission Open
Keywords: AI large models; UAV network; navigation; sensor fusion; UAV swarm; cooperative sensing
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Communications)
Next-Gen Drone Safety: Intelligent Systems, LLM Analytics and Operational Risk submission deadline 20 Oct 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 6440 | Submission Open
Keywords: artificial intelligence in aviation; aviation accident investigation; aviation safety; intelligent systems; large language models (LLMs); UAS accidents; unmanned aircraft systems
Advances in UAV Guidance, Navigation, and Control Through Acoustic Technologies
edited by and Dilmurat M. Azimov
submission deadline 22 Oct 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2703 | Submission Open
Keywords: UAV acoustics; drone noise; acoustic sensing; sound propagation; noise mitigation; acoustic navigation passive localization; beamforming; environmental noise impact; multimodal state estimation
Cooperative Perception, Planning, and Control of Heterogeneous UAVs
edited by Yuan Yuan, Qian Zhang and
submission deadline 22 Oct 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 1871 | Submission Open
Keywords: model-heterogeneous UAVs; function-heterogeneous UAVs; cooperative control; cooperative planning; cooperative perception; multi-source data Fusion; distributed control system; formation control; synergy robustness; motion constraint matching
(This special issue belongs to the Section Artificial Intelligence in Drones (AID))
Advances in Deep Learning for Drones and Its Applications: 3rd Edition
edited by , , Ho Seok Ahn and Chanoh Park
submission deadline 26 Oct 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 2393 | Submission Open
Keywords: UAVs; aerial robots; drones; remote sensing; deep learning; deep neural networks; computer vision; robotic perception
Drones in Pest Management and Plant Disease Detecting: State of the Art, Achievements and Perspectives
edited by Zoran Stamenković, Aleksandar Ivezić and
submission deadline 28 Oct 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 6029 | Submission Open
Keywords: unmanned aerial vehicle; pest management; plant disease detection; precision agriculture; remote sensing; multispectral imaging; hyperspectral data; machine learning; crop monitoring; smart spraying
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drones in Agriculture and Forestry)
Electric-Powered and Hybrid-Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Technology and Applications of Low-Altitude Aviation: 2nd Edition
edited by Wenbiao Gan, Zhou Zhou, and
submission deadline 28 Oct 2026 | Viewed by 458 | Submission Open
Keywords: electric-powered aircraft; distributed power; UAV; flying cars; optimization design; aerodynamics; artificial intelligence; green aviation; urban air mobility and delivery; low-altitude economy
(This special issue belongs to the Section Innovative Urban Mobility)
Artificial Intelligence-Driven Drones Systems for Marine Engineering Applications
edited by , Jia Ren, and Yani Cui
submission deadline 31 Oct 2026 | 7 articles | Viewed by 6977 | Submission Open
Keywords: drone applications; deep learning and reinforcement learning; marine engineering; vision-based perception; multimodal perception; environmental monitoring; autonomous navigation; air–sea coordination
Autonomy Challenges in Unmanned Aviation
edited by and Anthony Tzes
submission deadline 31 Oct 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 4429 | Submission Open
Keywords: unmanned aviation; autonomy; learning-based navigation and control; UAS design for robustness and resilience; NextGen UAS
Low-Latency Communication for Real-Time UAV Applications
edited by Angelos Stavrou, Tolga O. Atalay and Alireza Famili
submission deadline 31 Oct 2026 | 3 articles | Viewed by 3730 | Submission Open
Keywords: low-latency communication; real-time UAV applications; 5G/6G networks; ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC); edge computing for drones; UAV swarm communication; next-generation wireless systems; mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) for UAVs; autonomous drone networks; latency-aware protocols
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Communications)
Design and Flight Control of Low-Speed Near-Space Unmanned Systems: 2nd Edition
edited by Ming Zhu, Xixiang Yang and Tian Chen
submission deadline 31 Oct 2026 | 1 articles | Viewed by 774 | Submission Open
Keywords: near-space; high-altitude platform station; solar-powered unmanned systems; overall design of aircraft; flight control; solar energy cycle system; ultra-light construction; near-space low-speed unmanned aircraft.
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Design and Development)
Use of Drones in Protected Areas, Indigenous Lands, and National Parks
edited by Hamish A. Campbell, and Naomi Millner
submission deadline 31 Oct 2026 | Viewed by 313 | Submission Open
Keywords: protected areas; Indigenous co-design; wildlife monitoring; habitat mapping; fire management; disaster response; wetland monitoring; adaptive management
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drones in Ecology)
UAVs and GeoAI for Natural Hazard Monitoring and Modeling submission deadline 16 Nov 2026 | Viewed by 442 | Submission Open
Keywords: UAVs; geoAI; natural hazards; remote sensing; hazard monitoring and mapping; geospatial data analytics
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drones in Ecology)
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Enhanced Emergency Response: 2nd Edition
edited by , , Wonjae Shin, and Xiangming Li
submission deadline 20 Nov 2026 | Viewed by 218 | Submission Open
Keywords: UAVs; emergency response; situational awareness; autonomous navigation; edge computing; multi-UAV cooperation; space–air–ground-integrated network; secure information exchange
(This special issue belongs to the Section Drone Communications)
Advancing UAV-Based Remote Sensing: Innovations, Techniques and Applications
edited by , Yinxia Cao, Haoyang Yang and Dongyu Li
submission deadline 28 Nov 2026 | 2 articles | Viewed by 2772 | Submission Open |
Keywords: UAV remote sensing; drone path planning; image enhancement; multispectral and hyperspectral imaging; thermal remote sensing; precision mapping; data fusion techniques; environmental monitoring; disaster response applications; machine learning in UAV data analysis
Advanced Cross-Domain Unmanned Platform Command and Security Technology: 2nd Edition submission deadline 30 Nov 2026 | 4 articles | Viewed by 2203 | Submission Open
Keywords: intelligent control ; cross-domain ; command ; cooperation technologies ; security ; heterogeneous UAV swarms ; unmanned platforms
Advanced Optimization Strategies for UAV Mission Planning and Operation
edited by , and Giulio Avanzini
submission deadline 1 Dec 2026 | 10 articles | Viewed by 7411 | Submission Open
Keywords: unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); autonomous aerial systems; mission planning and scheduling; trajectory optimization; payload allocation and optimization; multi-UAV coordination; optimization algorithms; heuristic and metaheuristic methods; energy-efficient UAV operations; autonomous decision-making
(This special issue belongs to the Section Artificial Intelligence in Drones (AID))
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