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The Future of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and IoT Technologies:...
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The Future of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and IoT Technologies: Challenges, and Innovations

A special issue of Electronics (ISSN 2079-9292). This special issue belongs to the section "Networks".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 July 2026 | Viewed by 2743

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Piotr Zwierzykowski

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Guest Editor
Institute of Communication and Computer Networks, Faculty of Computing and Telecommunications, Poznań University of Technology, 60-965 Poznań, Poland
Interests: WSN; routing; analytical modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Maciej Piechowiak

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Computer Science, Kazimierz Wielki University, Bydgoszcz, Poland
Interests: WSN; routing; analytical modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Erich Leitgeb

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Guest Editor
Institute of Microwave and Photonic Engineering, Faculty of Electrical and Information Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 12/I, A-8010 Graz, Austria
Interests: free space optics; IoT
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to contribute original research or review articles to this Special Issue, which explores the evolving landscape of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. This issue aims to highlight recent innovations, emerging applications, and the open challenges within each field, as well as their growing convergence.

UAVs have become highly adaptable platforms across diverse domains such as aerial surveillance, remote sensing, disaster response, precision agriculture, and wireless communications. We welcome submissions focused on advancements in autonomous navigation, swarm coordination, onboard edge computing, flight path optimisation, and the integration of UAVs with terrestrial and satellite networks.

IoT technologies continue to transform how systems sense, communicate, and interact with the physical environment. Topics of interest include sensor networks, low-power communication protocols (e.g., LoRa, NB-IoT, 6LoWPAN), energy-efficient data processing, distributed intelligence, and interoperability across large-scale IoT infrastructures.

We are particularly interested in contributions that examine the synergistic integration of UAVs and IoT—where UAVs serve as mobile sensors, data collectors, communication relays, or edge computing nodes within IoT ecosystems. Such applications are especially valuable in remote, dynamic, or inaccessible environments.

Relevant research areas include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Advanced UAV control, autonomy, and AI-driven decision making
  • Swarm UAV coordination and collaborative mission planning
  • UAVs as mobile relays in wireless sensor networks
  • Security and privacy in UAV and IoT systems
  • Use of LoRa, 5G, and LPWAN technologies in IoT deployments
  • Intelligent sensor fusion and edge analytics
  • Energy-efficient design in UAV and IoT systems
  • UAV-enabled data collection in smart agriculture, environmental monitoring, and disaster management
  • Testbeds and simulation platforms for UAV/IoT research
  • Regulatory, ethical, and societal considerations

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Piotr Zwierzykowski
Dr. Maciej Piechowiak
Prof. Dr. Erich Leitgeb
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. Electronics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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

  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
  • internet of things (IoT)
  • edge computing
  • swarm coordination
  • wireless sensor networks

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 532 KB  
Article
Multi-Criteria Optimization Mechanisms for LoRa Network Topologies
by Maciej Piechowiak, Piotr Zwierzykowski and Cezary Graul
Electronics 2026, 15(9), 1872; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics15091872 - 28 Apr 2026
Viewed by 243
Abstract
LoRa mesh networks enable long-range, low-power connectivity but are constrained by very low bitrate, spreading-factor-specific SNR thresholds, and regional duty-cycle limits. This article presents a snapshot routing framework that separates feasibility from optimality. Feasibility is enforced as hard constraints-only radio options that satisfy [...] Read more.
LoRa mesh networks enable long-range, low-power connectivity but are constrained by very low bitrate, spreading-factor-specific SNR thresholds, and regional duty-cycle limits. This article presents a snapshot routing framework that separates feasibility from optimality. Feasibility is enforced as hard constraints-only radio options that satisfy SNR thresholds (with safety margin) and fit within remaining duty windows, which are admitted using an Okumura–Hata backbone with a model-agnostic specialization for link geometry. Optimality is achieved on a spreading-factor-expanded directed graph, where each feasible SF is represented as a distinct edge, and a composite, dimensionless hop metric balances airtime-driven energy expenditure, current and incremental duty usage, and optional quality penalties. The method yields per-hop SF selection via shortest-path computation and supports rapid re-planning without event-level simulation. Snapshot-based evaluation indicates improved control of airtime, duty exposure, and energy, providing a practical basis for multi-criteria routing in LoRa mesh networks with applicability to airborne and infrastructure-sparse deployments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Future of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and IoT Technologies: Challenges, and Innovations)
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24 pages, 9315 KB  
Article
Secure LoRa-Based Transmission System: An IoT Solution for Smart Homes and Industries
by Sebastian Ryczek and Maciej Sobieraj
Electronics 2025, 14(24), 4977; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics14244977 - 18 Dec 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1835
Abstract
This article addresses the lack of low-cost, secure image-transmission solutions for IoT systems in remote environments. The design and implementation of a complete LoRa-based transmission system using ESP32 microcontrollers and Ebyte E220 modules, featuring AES-CBC encryption, HMAC integrity protection, and a custom retransmission [...] Read more.
This article addresses the lack of low-cost, secure image-transmission solutions for IoT systems in remote environments. The design and implementation of a complete LoRa-based transmission system using ESP32 microcontrollers and Ebyte E220 modules, featuring AES-CBC encryption, HMAC integrity protection, and a custom retransmission protocol, are presented. The system achieves 100% packet delivery ratio (PDR) for 20 kB images over distances exceeding 2 km under line-of-sight conditions, with functional transmission up to 4.1 km. Image transmission time ranges from 35 s (0.1 m) to 110 s (600 m), while energy consumption increases from 4.95 mWh to 15.18 mWh. Critically, encryption imposes less than 1% overhead on total energy consumption. Unlike prior work focusing on isolated components, this article provides a complete, deployable architecture combining (i) low-cost hardware (<USD 50 total), (ii) long-range LoRa communication, (iii) custom reliability mechanisms for fragmenting 20 kB images into 100 packets, and (iv) end-to-end cryptographic protection, all evaluated experimentally across multi-kilometer distances. These findings demonstrate that secure long-range image transmission using commodity hardware is feasible and scalable for smart home and industrial monitoring applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Future of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and IoT Technologies: Challenges, and Innovations)
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