Unmanned Aerial Systems: Theoretical Foundation and Applications presents some of the latest innovative approaches to drones from the point-of-view of dynamic modeling, system analysis, optimization, control, communications, 3D-mapping, search and rescue, surveillance, farmland and construction monitoring, and more. With the emergence of low-cost UAS, a vast array of research works in academia and products in the industrial sectors have evolved. The book covers the safe operation of UAS, including, but not limited to, fundamental design, mission and path planning, control theory, computer vision, artificial intelligence, applications requirements, and more. This book provides a unique reference of the state-of-the-art research and development of unmanned aerial systems, making it an essential resource for researchers, instructors and practitioners. Covers some of the most innovative approaches to drones Provides the latest state-of-the-art research and development surrounding unmanned aerial systems Presents a comprehensive reference on unmanned aerial systems, with a focus on cutting-edge technologies and recent research trends in the area

UAV swarm network has been used in many critical applications, such as disaster recovery, area surveillance, weather monitoring, and military communications. There are many challenging R&D issues in UAV network designs, such as the hardware/software integration for a large-scale UAV network management, long-distance data transmissions among UAVs, swarm shape/formation control, and intelligent UAV mobility/position prediction. This book will be the first one to cover the engineering designs (especially network protocol designs) for dynamic, large-scale UAV network. It has the technical models/algorithms and protocol specifications for practical UAV swarm network deployment. Features: Includes chapters written by professors, researchers, engineers, and experts in UAV networking fields Details network protocol descriptions for practical engineering designs Covers 7-layer protocols (particularly data routing layer) Presents novel AI models/algorithms for intelligent UAV swarming/networking control Highlights practical hardware/software implementations for advanced UAV networks This book is suitable to a variety of audiences: (1) industry UAV R&D engineers, administrators, or technicians, who would like to grasp the latest trends in UAV communications; (2) college graduate students or researchers, who may want to pursue some advanced research on large-scale UAV swarming and networking technologies; (3) government agencies that determine the future society development in this exciting field; and (4) other interested readers with a strong desire to understand the challenges of designing a QoS-oriented UAV network. The book editors are: Dr. Fei Hu, Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Dr. Xin-Lin Huang, Professor in Information and Communication Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China; and Dr. DongXiu Ou, Professor in Transportation Information Institute at Tongji University, Shanghai, China.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems delivers a much needed introduction to UAV System technology, taking an integrated approach that avoids compartmentalising the subject. Arranged in four sections, parts 1-3 examine the way in which various engineering disciplines affect the design, development and deployment of UAS. The fourth section assesses the future challenges and opportunities of UAS. Technological innovation and increasingly diverse applications are two key drivers of the rapid expansion of UAS technology. The global defence budget for UAS procurement is expanding, and in the future the market for civilian UAVs is expected to outmatch that of the military. Agriculture, meteorology, conservation and border control are just a few of the diverse areas in which UAVs are making a significant impact; the author addresses all of these applications, looking at the roles and technology behind both fixed wing and rotorcraft UAVs. Leading aeronautical consultant Reg Austin co-founded the Bristol International Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV) conferences in 1979, which are now the longest-established UAS conferences worldwide. In addition, Austin has over 40 years' experience in the design and development of UAS. One of Austin's programmes, the "Sprite UAV System" has been deployed around the world and operated by day and night, in all weathers.

The first book to focus on communications and networking in UAVs, covering theory, applications, regulation, policy, and implementation.

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the theory and tools needed for the development of an efficient and robust infrastructure for the design of collaborative patrolling unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms, focusing on its applications for tactical intelligence drones. It discusses frameworks for robustly and near-optimally analyzing flocks of semi-autonomous vehicles designed to efficiently perform the ongoing dynamic patrolling and scanning of pre-defined “search regions”. It discusses the theoretical limitations of such systems, as well as the trade-offs between the systems’ various economic and operational parameters. Current UAV systems rely mainly on human operators for the design and adaptation of drones’ flying routes. However, recent technological advances have introduced new systems, comprised of a small number of self-organizing vehicles, manually guided at the swarm level by a human operator. With the growing complexity of such man-supervised architectures, it is becoming increasingly harder to guarantee a pre-defined level of performance. The use of large scale swarms of UAVs as a combat and reconnaissance platform therefore necessitates the development of an efficient optimization mechanism of their utilization, specifically in the design and maintenance of their patrolling routes. The book is intended for researchers and engineers in the fields of swarms systems and autonomous drones.

This volume presents the conference proceedings from FinDrones 2023. The book highlights recent drone technology developments by experts and academicians for applications in agriculture, forestry, and other industries. This iteration of FinDrones presents research using autonomous drones in various fields from environmental monitoring to farm robotics and from photogrammetry to search and rescue missions. Emphasis is placed on contextualizing the conference presentations and content to Finland and the unique challenges typical to the region. The work will interest academicians, entrepreneurs, and professionals involved in remote sensing applications of unmanned aerial vehicles and enthusiasts of drone technological developments.