Advanced UAV Communication and Sensor Technologies for Electromagnetic Environment Awareness and Channel Optimization
A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Communications".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 July 2026 | Viewed by 10
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In future integrated space–air–ground communication networks, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are expected to play a critical role as flexible aerial platforms enabling connectivity among network components. However, achieving reliable, efficient, and environmentally friendly UAV communications requires a comprehensive understanding of the electromagnetic environment and radio propagation characteristics in complex and dynamic scenarios. This motivates the requirements of advanced channel modeling, sensing, and optimization techniques for UAV-assisted communications.
Recently, some technologies, such as integrated sensing and communication (ISAC), reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs), intelligent spectrum management, and so on, have provided new opportunities to jointly sense and optimize the wireless environment. Meanwhile, rapid advances in sensor technologies (i.e., remote sensing, cameras, LiDAR, radar, and other onboard sensors) enable UAVs to acquire rich multimodal sensor data for enhanced environment awareness and channel optimization. By fusing communication and sensing information, UAVs can support real-time channel prediction, adaptive transmission strategies, intelligent trajectory planning, and mission-oriented resource allocation.
This Special Issue aims to bring together cutting-edge research on UAV communication systems and sensor-assisted electromagnetic environment awareness and channel optimization. Contributions addressing theoretical analysis, algorithm design, system implementation, and practical deployment are all encouraged, with the goal of advancing both academic research and real-world applications in next-generation integrated networks.
Dr. Kai Mao
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- UAV communications
- radio propagation channel
- multimodal sensors
- electromagnetic environment awareness
- channel optimization
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