With the extraordinary growth of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in research, military, and commercial contexts, there has been a need for a reference that provides a comprehensive look at the latest research in the area. Filling this void, Smart Autonomous Aircraft: Flight Control and Planning for UAV introduces the advanced methods of flight contr

Intelligent Autonomy of UAVs: Advanced Missions and Future Use provides an approach to the formulation of the fundamental task typical to any mission and provides guidelines of how this task can be solved by different generic robotic problems. As such, this book aims to provide a systems engineering approach to UAV projects, discovering the real problems that need to be resolved independently of the application. After an introduction to the rapidly evolving field of aerial robotics, the book presents topics such as autonomy, mission analysis, human-UAV teams, homogeneous and heterogeneous UAV teams, and finally, UAV-UGV teams. It then covers generic robotic problems such as orienteering and coverage. The book next introduces deployment, patrolling, and foraging, while the last part of the book tackles an important application: aerial search, tracking, and surveillance. This book is meant for both scientists and practitioners. For practitioners, it presents existing solutions that are categorized according to various missions: surveillance and reconnaissance, 3D mapping, urban monitoring, precision agriculture, forestry, disaster assessment and monitoring, security, industrial plant inspection, etc. For scientists, it provides an overview of generic robotic problems such as coverage and orienteering; deployment, patrolling and foraging; search, tracking, and surveillance. The design and analysis of algorithms raise a unique combination of questions from many fields, including robotics, operational research, control theory, and computer science.

AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES The companion to Autonomous Vehicles Volume 1: Using Machine Intelligence, this second volume in the two-volume set covers intelligent techniques utilized for designing, controlling, and managing vehicular systems based on advanced algorithms of computing like machine learning, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and Internet of Things (IoT) with prediction approaches to avoid accidental damages, security threats, and theft. Besides communicating with other vehicles, self-driving cars connected to a 5G network will also be able to communicate with different infrastructure elements that make up our roads and other transportation and communication systems. Similarly, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board, can operate under remote control by a human operator, as a remotely-piloted aircraft (RPA), or with various degrees of autonomy. These include autopilot assistance and fully autonomous aircraft that have no provision for human intervention. Transportation is a necessary, but often painful process. With fully autonomous driving, passengers will be freed to accomplish their own goals, turning the dead hours of driving into fruitful hours of learning, working, engaging, and relaxing. Similarly, UAVs can perform functions that human-operated aircraft cannot, whether because of the environment or high-risk situations. The purpose of the book is to present the needs, designs, and applications of autonomous vehicles. The topics covered range from mechanical engineering to computer science engineering, both areas playing vital roles in programming, managing, generating alerts, and GPS position, artificial intelligence-based prediction of path and events, as well as other high-tech tools, are covered in this book, as well. Whether for the student, veteran engineer, or another industry professional, this book, and its companion volume, are must-haves for any library.

Intelligent Autonomy of UAVs: Advanced Missions and Future Use provides an approach to the formulation of the fundamental task typical to any mission and provides guidelines of how this task can be solved by different generic robotic problems. As such, this book aims to provide a systems engineering approach to UAV projects, discovering the real problems that need to be resolved independently of the application. After an introduction to the rapidly evolving field of aerial robotics, the book presents topics such as autonomy, mission analysis, human-UAV teams, homogeneous and heterogeneous UAV teams, and finally, UAV-UGV teams. It then covers generic robotic problems such as orienteering and coverage. The book next introduces deployment, patrolling, and foraging, while the last part of the book tackles an important application: aerial search, tracking, and surveillance. This book is meant for both scientists and practitioners. For practitioners, it presents existing solutions that are categorized according to various missions: surveillance and reconnaissance, 3D mapping, urban monitoring, precision agriculture, forestry, disaster assessment and monitoring, security, industrial plant inspection, etc. For scientists, it provides an overview of generic robotic problems such as coverage and orienteering; deployment, patrolling and foraging; search, tracking, and surveillance. The design and analysis of algorithms raise a unique combination of questions from many fields, including robotics, operational research, control theory, and computer science.

AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES The companion to Autonomous Vehicles Volume 1: Using Machine Intelligence, this second volume in the two-volume set covers intelligent techniques utilized for designing, controlling, and managing vehicular systems based on advanced algorithms of computing like machine learning, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and Internet of Things (IoT) with prediction approaches to avoid accidental damages, security threats, and theft. Besides communicating with other vehicles, self-driving cars connected to a 5G network will also be able to communicate with different infrastructure elements that make up our roads and other transportation and communication systems. Similarly, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board, can operate under remote control by a human operator, as a remotely-piloted aircraft (RPA), or with various degrees of autonomy. These include autopilot assistance and fully autonomous aircraft that have no provision for human intervention. Transportation is a necessary, but often painful process. With fully autonomous driving, passengers will be freed to accomplish their own goals, turning the dead hours of driving into fruitful hours of learning, working, engaging, and relaxing. Similarly, UAVs can perform functions that human-operated aircraft cannot, whether because of the environment or high-risk situations. The purpose of the book is to present the needs, designs, and applications of autonomous vehicles. The topics covered range from mechanical engineering to computer science engineering, both areas playing vital roles in programming, managing, generating alerts, and GPS position, artificial intelligence-based prediction of path and events, as well as other high-tech tools, are covered in this book, as well. Whether for the student, veteran engineer, or another industry professional, this book, and its companion volume, are must-haves for any library.

First used in military applications, unmanned aerial vehicles are becoming an integral aspect of modern society and are expanding into the commercial, scientific, recreational, agricultural, and surveillance sectors. With the increasing use of these drones by government officials, business professionals, and civilians, more research is needed to understand their complexity both in design and function. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice is a critical source of academic knowledge on the design, construction, and maintenance of drones, as well as their applications across all aspects of society. Highlighting a range of pertinent topics such as intelligent systems, artificial intelligence, and situation awareness, this publication is an ideal reference source for military consultants, military personnel, business professionals, operation managers, surveillance companies, agriculturalists, policymakers, government officials, law enforcement, IT professionals, academicians, researchers, and graduate-level students.

Besides communicating with other vehicles, self-driving cars connected to a 5G network will also be able to communicate with different infrastructure elements that make up our roads and other transportation and communication systems. Similarly, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board, can operate under remote control by a human operator, as a remotely-piloted aircraft (RPA), or with various degrees of autonomy. These include autopilot assistance and fully autonomous aircraft that have no provision for human intervention. Transportation is a necessary, but often painful process. With fully autonomous driving, passengers will be freed to accomplish their own goals, turning the dead hours of driving into fruitful hours of learning, working, engaging, and relaxing. Similarly, UAVs can perform functions that human-operated aircraft cannot, whether because of the environment or high-risk situations. The purpose of the book is to present the needs, designs, and applications of autonomous vehicles. The topics covered range from mechanical engineering to computer science engineering, both areas playing vital roles in programming, managing, generating alerts, and GPS position, artificial intelligence-based prediction of path and events, as well as other high-tech tools, are covered in this book, as well. Whether for the student, veteran engineer, or another industry professional, this book, and its companion volume, are must-haves for any library.