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Drones
Special Issues
Advancing UAV-Based Remote Sensing: Innovations, Techniques and Applications
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Advancing UAV-Based Remote Sensing: Innovations, Techniques and Applications

A special issue of Drones (ISSN 2504-446X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2026 | Viewed by 783

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rui Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
Interests: UAV and remote sensing image processing; computer vision; offshore wind energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yinxia Cao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: building height; weakly-supervised learning; multi-view imagery; high-resolution; change detection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Haoyang Yang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Interests: UAV application; machine learning, planning and navigation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dongyu Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Cyber Science and Technolgoy, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
Interests: UAV intelligent and application
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have revolutionized remote sensing, offering unprecedented opportunities for high-resolution, flexible, and cost-effective data collection. With advancements in UAV technology, sensors, and data processing algorithms, these systems are now have various critical environmental, agricultural, and urban applications. From efficient flight path planning to innovative image enhancement techniques, UAV-based remote sensing continues to expand the boundaries of research and acquire even more practical applications.

This Special Issue aims to showcase cutting-edge research and practical developments in the field of UAV-based remote sensing. We welcome studies addressing the full spectrum of UAV operations, including flight planning optimization, data acquisition, advanced image processing, and the diverse applications of UAVs in environmental monitoring, disaster response, and precision agriculture. Contributions exploring the integration of multispectral, hyperspectral, and thermal imaging, as well as innovative uses of machine learning and artificial intelligence in UAV applications, are highly encouraged.

Potential topics for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • UAV path planning and autonomous navigation for remote sensing;
  • Image enhancement techniques, including denoising and super-resolution;
  • Multispectral and hyperspectral UAV applications;
  • Thermal imaging and its applications in environmental and industrial studies;
  • Precision agriculture using UAVs;
  • The use of UAVs for disaster monitoring and management;
  • Forest and vegetation monitoring;
  • Data fusion techniques for the integration of UAVs and satellites;
  • Innovations in UAV sensor design and payload optimization;
  • Ethical and regulatory considerations in UAV remote sensing.

We invite researchers and practitioners to contribute original research articles, reviews, and technical notes that will advance the art of UAV-based remote sensing.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Remote Sensing.

Dr. Rui Li
Dr. Yinxia Cao
Dr. Haoyang Yang
Dr. Dongyu Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Drones is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Dr. Rui Li
Dr. Yinxia Cao
Dr. Haoyang Yang
Dr. Dongyu Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Drones is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

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  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

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24 pages, 3738 KB  
Article
Autonomous Exploration-Oriented UAV Approach for Real-Time Spatial Mapping in Unknown Environments
by Yang Ye, Xuanhao Wang, Guohua Gou, Hao Zhang, Han Li and Haigang Sui
Drones 2025, 9(12), 844; https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9120844 - 8 Dec 2025
Viewed by 140
Abstract
Autonomous exploration is essential for various mapping tasks, including data collection, environmental monitoring, and search and rescue operations. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), owing to their low cost and high maneuverability, have become key enablers of such applications, particularly in complex or hazardous environments. [...] Read more.
Autonomous exploration is essential for various mapping tasks, including data collection, environmental monitoring, and search and rescue operations. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), owing to their low cost and high maneuverability, have become key enablers of such applications, particularly in complex or hazardous environments. However, existing approaches often suffer from issues such as redundant exploration and unstable flight behavior. In this study, we propose a hierarchical exploration approach specifically designed for limited-field-of-view UAVs in geospatial mapping applications. The approach addresses these challenges through hybrid viewpoint generation, an innovative boundary exploration sequence, and a two-stage global path planning strategy. To balance exploration efficiency and computational cost, we adopt a hybrid approach that combines collision-free spherical sampling with adaptive viewpoint generation based on stochastic differential equations. This approach generates high-quality candidate viewpoints while minimizing computational overhead. Furthermore, we introduce a novel heuristic evaluation function to prioritize frontiers within small regions, thereby facilitating optimal path planning. Based on this formulation, the global coverage path is modeled as a traveling salesman problem (TSP). The two-stage global planning framework consists of an initial stage that applies a history-aware trajectory enhancement strategy with smoothing corrections, followed by a second stage employing a sliding-window TSP algorithm to construct the global path. This design mitigates motion inconsistencies caused by frequent heuristic updates and enhances flight stability and trajectory smoothness. To evaluate the performance of the proposed framework, we compare it with state-of-the-art approaches in both simulated and real-world environments. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach shortens flight paths and reduces exploration time, thereby improving overall exploration efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancing UAV-Based Remote Sensing: Innovations, Techniques and Applications)
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