Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Remote Sensing and Scientific Research: Classification and Considerations of Use

TLDR

Unmanned Aircraft Systems have rapidly evolved from military to civilian use, offering long flight duration, improved safety, repeatability, and lower costs, but their advantages depend on aircraft, sensors, mission goals, and evolving regulations that currently hinder scientific adoption. The article aims to inform the scientific community by outlining UAS platforms, sensor capabilities, and regulatory considerations relevant to research needs. The authors review various UAS platforms and sensors, assess their suitability for scientific missions, and discuss the regulatory landscape shaping their deployment.

Abstract

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) have evolved rapidly over the past decade driven primarily by military uses, and have begun finding application among civilian users for earth sensing reconnaissance and scientific data collection purposes. Among UAS, promising characteristics are long flight duration, improved mission safety, flight repeatability due to improving autopilots, and reduced operational costs when compared to manned aircraft. The potential advantages of an unmanned platform, however, depend on many factors, such as aircraft, sensor types, mission objectives, and the current UAS regulatory requirements for operations of the particular platform. The regulations concerning UAS operation are still in the early development stages and currently present significant barriers to entry for scientific users. In this article we describe a variety of platforms, as well as sensor capabilities, and identify advantages of each as relevant to the demands of users in the scientific research sector. We also briefly discuss the current state of regulations affecting UAS operations, with the purpose of informing the scientific community about this developing technology whose potential for revolutionizing natural science observations is similar to those transformations that GIS and GPS brought to the community two decades ago.