Drones, Volume 5, Issue 2

Starting from the Martian environment, we examine all the necessary requirements for a UAV and outline the architecture of a gyroplane optimized for scientific research and support for (future) Mars explorers, highlighting its advantages and critical...

With the rise of Deep Learning approaches in computer vision applications, significant strides have been made towards vehicular autonomy. Research activity in autonomous drone navigation has increased rapidly in the past five years, and drones are mo...

The usage of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) has increased in recent years and new application scenarios have emerged. Some of them involve tasks that require a high degree of autonomy, leading to increasingly complex systems. In order for a robot to...

The main objective of this research was to evaluate the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in estimating the aboveground biomass and carbon, and the dasometric characteristics at three different spacings (2.5 m × 1.0 m, 2.5 m × 2.0 m and 2.5 m ×...

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) used for humanitarian applications require simple, accessible and reliable components. For example, a communication system between UAV and the Ground Control Station (GCS) is essential in order to monitor UAV status; v...

Rapid technology advancements, especially in the past decade, have allowed off-the-shelf unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that weigh less than 250 g to become available for recreational use by the general population. Many well-known manufacturers (e.g...

Traditional acquisition methods for generating digital surface models (DSMs) of infrastructure are either low resolution and slow (total station-based methods) or expensive (LiDAR). By contrast, photogrammetric methods have recently received attentio...

This study explores the experts’ opinions during the consultation stage before law-making for civilian drones. A thorough literature study is first undertaken to have the set of influencing factors that should be suitable for the investigation from t...

Recent developments in technology and data processing for Unoccupied Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have revolutionized the scope of ecosystem monitoring, providing novel pathways to fill the critical gap between limited-scope field surveys and limited-custo...

This work provides a systematic evaluation of how survey design and computer processing choices (such as the software used or the workflow/parameters chosen) influence unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based photogrammetry retrieval of tree diameter at b...

Having an exciting array of applications, the scope of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) application could be far wider one if its flight endurance can be prolonged. Solar-powered UAV, promising notable prolongation in flight endurance, is drawing increa...

The raising accessibility of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), colloquially known as drones, is rapidly increasing. Recent studies have discussed challenges that may come in tow with the growing use of this technology. These studies note that in-depth...

Real-time data collection and decision making with drones will play an important role in precision livestock and farming. Drones are already being used in precision agriculture. Nevertheless, this is not the case for indoor livestock and farming envi...

The characterization of a quarry site which is suitable for railway ballast aggregate production represents a big challenge for the mining industry. The knowledge of structural discontinuities within local geological materials is fundamental to guide...

Despite growing interest in using lightweight unmanned aerial systems (UASs) for ecological research and conservation, review of the operational aspects of these evolving technologies is limited in the scientific literature. To derive an objective fr...

Commercial operations of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) are expanding, with medical logistics using UAVs as part of health service supply chains being targeted. The ability to transport cargos that include items classified as Dangerous Goo...

The mapping of peatland microtopography (e.g., hummocks and hollows) is key for understanding and modeling complex hydrological and biochemical processes. Here we compare unmanned aerial system (UAS) derived structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry...

We consider the problem of vision-based detection and ranging of a target UAV using the video feed from a monocular camera onboard a pursuer UAV. Our previously published work in this area employed a cascade classifier algorithm to locate the target...

The scope of this work is to compare Sentinel-2 and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) imagery from northern Greece for use in precision agriculture by implementing statistical analysis and 2D visualization. Surveys took place on five dates with a differ...

Plant diseases can impact crop yield. Thus, the detection of plant diseases using sensors that can be mounted on aerial vehicles is in the interest of farmers to support decision-making in integrated pest management and to breeders for selecting tole...

Multi-agent unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) teaming becomes an essential part in science mission, modern warfare surveillance, and disaster rescuing. This paper proposes a decentralized UAV swarm persistent monitoring strategy in realizing continuous s...

Methods to implement communication in natural and humanmade disasters have been widely discussed in the scientific community. Scientists believe that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) relays will play a critical role in 5G public safety communications...

Since outdoor compost piles (OCPs) contain large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus, they act as a major pollutant that deteriorates water quality, such as eutrophication and green algae, when the OCPs enter the river during rainfall. In South Korea,...

The use of drones has expanded the boundaries of several activities, which is expected to be utilized intensively in the near future. Interactions between urbanity and naturalness have been increasing while urban expansion amplifies the proximity bet...

Coral reefs, as biologically diverse ecosystems, hold significant ecological and economic value. With increased threats imposed on them, it is increasingly important to monitor reef health by developing accessible methods to quantify coral cover. Dis...

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, are a class of aircraft without the presence of pilots on board. UAVs have the ability to reduce the time and cost of deliveries and to respond to emergency situations. Currently, UAVs are extens...

Sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea or holothurians) are a valuable fishery and are also crucial nutrient recyclers, bioturbation agents, and hosts for many biotic associates. Their ecological impacts could be substantial given their high abundance in some...

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and small drones are nowadays being widely used in heterogeneous use cases: aerial photography, precise agriculture, inspections, environmental data collection, search-and-rescue operations, surveillance applications,...

The use of uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) increases the opportunities for detecting surface changes in remote areas and in challenging terrain. Detecting surface topographic changes offers an important constraint for understanding earthquake damage, g...

Many drone platforms have matured to become nearly optimal flying machines with only modest improvements in efficiency possible. “Chimera” craft combine fixed wing and rotary wing characteristics while being substantially less efficient than both. Th...