Announcements

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Hai-Tao Zhang has been appointed as the Section Editor-in-Chief of the Section “Unmanned Surface and Underwater Drones” in Drones (ISSN 2504-446X).

Name: Prof. Dr. Hai-Tao Zhang
Affiliation: School of Artificial Intelligence and Automation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
Interests: AI; swarm intelligence; collaborative manufacturing of swarm robots; autonomous unmanned vehicle

Prof. Dr. Hai-Tao Zhang (IEEE Fellow) received his PhD from the University of Science and Technology of China (2005) and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge (2007). He is currently a Second-Level Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, and the Deputy Dean of the School of Artificial Intelligence and Automation at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China. He also serves as the Director of the Ministry of Education Engineering Center for Autonomous Intelligent Unmanned Systems and Chief Scientist for the National Key R&D Program on New-Generation Artificial Intelligence under the National Science and Technology Innovation 2030 initiative. Prof. Dr. Hai-Tao Zhang was the recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars. He was an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems-Part II: Express Briefs, Engineering, Unmanned Systems, and Asian Journal of Control.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Hai-Tao Zhang, who shared his vision for the section with us, as well as his views on the research area and open access publishing:

1. What appealed to you about Drones that made you want to take on the role of Section Editor-in-Chief for “Unmanned Surface and Underwater Drones”?
Drones has established itself as an influential open access journal covering a broad range of research on unmanned systems. I am particularly interested in its interdisciplinary platform, which brings together advances in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, sensing, and control. I am pleased to contribute to the development of the “Unmanned Surface and Underwater Drones” Section and promote high-quality research in this rapidly developing field.

2. What is your vision for this section, and what are your main strategic priorities during your term as Section Editor-in-Chief?
My vision is to build the Section into a high-quality platform for innovative research on intelligent perception, autonomous decision-making, cooperative control, and multi-agent systems for surface and underwater drones. During my term, I hope to strengthen the Section’s international visibility, encourage interdisciplinary research, and promote emerging topics that address important challenges in real-world unmanned systems.

3. What does the future of unmanned surface and underwater drone research look like, in your view? Where do you see the most exciting developments emerging?
I believe the field is moving toward greater autonomy, intelligence, and cooperation. In particular, multi-agent coordination, intelligent perception, learning-based control, human–machine collaboration, and heterogeneous unmanned systems are promising directions. The integration of artificial intelligence with physical platforms will also enable unmanned systems to operate more effectively in complex and dynamic marine environments.

4. How do you view the development of open access publishing, and what role do you see for open access journals like Drones in shaping the future of scholarly communication?
Open access publishing provides researchers with broader and more immediate access to scientific knowledge. Journals such as Drones can help accelerate the dissemination of new ideas, facilitate international collaboration, and connect researchers across different disciplines. I believe open access will continue to play an important role in making research more accessible and impactful.

5. What advice would you give to early career researchers and young scholars entering the field of unmanned surface and underwater drones?
I would encourage young researchers to develop a strong foundation in both fundamental theory and practical applications. It is important to identify meaningful problems, maintain curiosity about emerging technologies, and pursue interdisciplinary collaboration. At the same time, researchers should pay attention to real-world challenges and strive to develop methods that can be validated beyond simulations and laboratory environments.

We wish Prof. Dr. Hai-Tao Zhang every success in his new position, and we look forward to his contributions to the “Unmanned Surface and Underwater Drones” Section and the journal.