Drones and the Internet of Things: Enabling Connected Airspace

Dear Colleagues,

The integration of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as drones, into wireless networks is rapidly transforming the communication landscape. Thanks to their mobility, flexible deployment, and expanding onboard processing capabilities, UAVs are emerging as key enablers of next-generation wireless systems. From acting as flying base stations and relays to enabling advanced sensing and data collection missions, drones are becoming essential components in both terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks. Their integration with the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm opens new frontiers for ubiquitous connectivity and real-time interaction with the environment—paving the way for truly connected airspace. As the demand for reliable, low-latency, and scalable aerial services grows, there is an urgent need to explore new architectures, protocols, and system-level solutions that can fully exploit drone-enabled networks.

The goal of this Special Issue is to collect original research articles and review papers that provide insights into the enabling technologies, challenges, and applications of UAVs in wireless communication and IoT systems. The issue aligns with the scope of the journal by fostering interdisciplinary research at the intersection of networking, systems engineering, and cyber-physical integration—supporting the evolution of smart, connected infrastructures.

This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes:

Communication and Networking Architectures
- Design and optimization of PHY and MAC layers for UAV-enabled IoT systems: adaptive spectrum sharing, beamforming/MIMO for mmWave and THz links, RIS/IRS integration and optimization.
- Protocol design, optimization, and edge computing for UAV-enabled IoT systems: cross-layer protocols, scalable access schemes for massive IoT, delay-tolerant and/or energy-efficient networking, and others.

Network Optimization and Integration for UAV Connectivity
- UAV communication modelling: channel modelling, interference modelling, and others.
- UAV-integrated terrestrial and non-terrestrial network architecture design: 3D ubiquitous IoT connectivity, seamless and efficient handovers, and edge computing for integrated IoT systems.
- Digital Twin frameworks for UAV and IoT communication and operations.

Intelligence and Autonomy in UAV-Enabled IoT Systems
- AI-native architectures for UAV-enabled IoT systems.
- Reinforcement learning, federated learning, and distributed AI techniques for autonomous decision-making, UAV coordination, and collision avoidance in IoT systems.

Standardization and Security for UAV Systems
- Security, privacy, and trust mechanisms for UAV-enabled IoT systems.
- Regulation and compliance for UAV-enabled IoT systems.

Testbeds and Experimental Validation
- Testbed design for UAV and IoT communication systems.
- Link and Network measurements frameworks and campaign for UAV-enabled IoT systems.
- Deployments and performance evaluation in large-scale cellular networks.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Dr. Riccardo Marini
Dr. Bernabe Matteo
Dr. Enrico Testi
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.