UAV and USV Technologies for Inspection and Monitoring in Coastal Engineering

Dear Colleagues,

Coastal zones are among the most dynamic and vulnerable environments on Earth, constantly exposed to natural processes and anthropogenic pressures. Ensuring the resilience and sustainability of coastal and civil infrastructure, such as breakwaters, harbors, bridges, dams, and seawalls, requires advanced and reproducible monitoring methods that can capture complex 3D dynamics both above and below the water’s surface.

In this context, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) have emerged as powerful, complementary tools for high-resolution surveying and inspection. UAVs facilitate the acquisition of detailed topographic and structural data from exposed surfaces, while USVs provide accurate bathymetric information and enable access to otherwise inaccessible or hazardous areas. The integration of UAV and USV data, complemented by advancements in photogrammetry, GNSS/INS integration, sonar imaging, and AI-driven analytics, offers unprecedented potential for the comprehensive monitoring of coastal and civil infrastructure.

This Special Issue, titled “UAV and USV Technologies for Inspection and Monitoring in Coastal Engineering”, aims to gather innovative research and applied studies demonstrating the use of these technologies to assess, monitor, and manage both natural coastal systems and engineered structures in marine and nearshore environments. Contributions showcasing methodological developments, validation studies, and field-based evidence from diverse geographical and climatic contexts are welcome.

Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:

• UAV and USV applications for the inspection and monitoring of coastal and civil engineering structures (e.g., breakwaters, harbors, bridges, dams, and coastal defenses).
• Integration of aerial and surface data for seamless topo-bathymetric modeling.
• Multi-temporal 3D change detection and deformation analysis.
• Machine learning and AI for feature extraction, damage assessment, and automated monitoring.
• Innovative workflows and reproducible protocols for infrastructure and environmental monitoring.
• Assessment of structural resilience and morphological evolution in dynamic coastal zones.
• Evaluation of accuracy, uncertainty, and cost efficiency in UAV/USV surveys.
• Case studies addressing erosion, sediment dynamics, flooding, or climate resilience.

This Special Issue seeks to bridge the gap between geomatics, civil engineering, and coastal engineering, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and the adoption of autonomous sensing technologies for the sustainable management of coastal and hydraulic environments.

Dr. Marcos Arza-García
Dr. Ana Margarida Bento
Dr. José Alberto Gonçalves
Guest Editors

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• UAV photogrammetry
• USV bathymetry
• topo-bathymetric integration
• coastal and civil infrastructure monitoring
• 3D change detection
• structural resilience
• autonomous surveying
• AI-based damage assessment
• multi-temporal analysis
• reproducible monitoring workflows