Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) have seen unprecedented levels of growth during the last decade in both military and civilian domains. It is anticipated that civilian applications will be dominant in the future, although there are still barriers to be overcome and technical challenges to be met. Integrating UAS into, for example, civilian space, navigation, autonomy, see-detect-and-avoid systems, smart designs, system integration, vision-based navigation and training, to name but a few areas, will be of prime importance in the near future. This special volume is the outcome of research presented at the International Symposium on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, held in Orlando, Florida, USA, from June 23-25, 2008, and presents state-of-the-art findings on topics such as: UAS operations and integration into the national airspace system; UAS navigation and control; micro-, mini-, small UAVs; UAS simulation testbeds and frameworks; UAS research platforms and applications; UAS applications. This book aims at serving as a guide tool on UAS for engineers and practitioners, academics, government agencies and industry. Previously published in the Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems, 54 (1-3, 2009).

Explore foundational and advanced issues in UAV cellular communications with this cutting-edge and timely new resource UAV Communications for 5G and Beyond delivers a comprehensive overview of the potential applications, networking architectures, research findings, enabling technologies, experimental measurement results, and industry standardizations for UAV communications in cellular systems. The book covers both existing LTE infrastructure, as well as future 5G-and-beyond systems. UAV Communications covers a range of topics that will be of interest to students and professionals alike. Issues of UAV detection and identification are discussed, as is the positioning of autonomous aerial vehicles. More fundamental subjects, like the necessary tradeoffs involved in UAV communication are examined in detail. The distinguished editors offer readers an opportunity to improve their ability to plan and design for the near-future, explosive growth in the number of UAVs, as well as the correspondingly demanding systems that come with them. Readers will learn about a wide variety of timely and practical UAV topics, like: Performance measurement for aerial vehicles over cellular networks, particularly with respect to existing LTE performance Inter-cell interference coordination with drones Massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) for Cellular UAV communications, including beamforming, null-steering, and the performance of forward-link C&C channels 3GPP standardization for cellular-supported UAVs, including UAV traffic requirements, channel modeling, and interference challenges Trajectory optimization for UAV communications Perfect for professional engineers and researchers working in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles, UAV Communications for 5G and Beyond also belongs on the bookshelves of students in masters and PhD programs studying the integration of UAVs into cellular communication systems.

This two-volume set (CCIS 134 and CCIS 135) constitutes the refereed proceedings of the International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Information Science, ICICIS2011, held in Chongqing, China, in January 2011. The 226 revised full papers presented in both volumes, CCIS 134 and CCIS 135, were carefully reviewed and selected from over 600 initial submissions. The papers provide the reader with a broad overview of the latest advances in the field of intelligent computing and information science.

In the last decade, signi?cant changes have occurred in the ?eld of vehicle motion planning, and for UAVs in particular. UAV motion planning is especially dif?cult due to several complexities not considered by earlier planning strategies: the - creased importance of differential constraints, atmospheric turbulence which makes it impossible to follow a pre-computed plan precisely, uncertainty in the vehicle state, and limited knowledge about the environment due to limited sensor capabilities. These differences have motivated the increased use of feedback and other control engineering techniques for motion planning. The lack of exact algorithms for these problems and dif?culty inherent in characterizing approximation algorithms makes it impractical to determine algorithm time complexity, completeness, and even soundness. This gap has not yet been addressed by statistical characterization of experimental performance of algorithms and benchmarking. Because of this overall lack of knowledge, it is dif?cult to design a guidance system, let alone choose the algorithm. Throughout this paper we keep in mind some of the general characteristics and requirements pertaining to UAVs. A UAV is typically modeled as having velocity and acceleration constraints (and potentially the higher-order differential constraints associated with the equations of motion), and the objective is to guide the vehicle towards a goal through an obstacle ?eld. A UAV guidance problem is typically characterized by a three-dimensional problem space, limited information about the environment, on-board sensors with limited range, speed and acceleration constraints, and uncertainty in vehicle state and sensor data.

The book describes the recent progress in some engine technologies and active flow control and morphing technologies and in topics related to aeroacoustics and aircraft controllers. Both the researchers and students should find the material useful in their work.

The Handbook of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles is a reference text for the academic and research communities, industry, manufacturers, users, practitioners, Federal Government, Federal and State Agencies, the private sector, as well as all organizations that are and will be using unmanned aircraft in a wide spectrum of applications. The Handbook covers all aspects of UAVs, from design to logistics and ethical issues. It is also targeting the young investigator, the future inventor and entrepreneur by providing an overview and detailed information of the state-of-the-art as well as useful new concepts that may lead to innovative research. The contents of the Handbook include material that addresses the needs and ‘know how’ of all of the above sectors targeting a very diverse audience. The Handbook offers a unique and comprehensive treatise of everything one needs to know about unmanned aircrafts, from conception to operation, from technologies to business activities, users, OEMs, reference sources, conferences, publications, professional societies, etc. It should serve as a Thesaurus, an indispensable part of the library for everyone involved in this area. For the first time, contributions by the world’s top experts from academia, industry, government and the private sector, are brought together to provide unique perspectives on the current state-of-the-art in UAV, as well as future directions. The Handbook is intended for the expert/practitioner who seeks specific technical/business information, for the technically-oriented scientists and engineers, but also for the novice who wants to learn more about the status of UAV and UAV-related technologies. The Handbook is arranged in a user-friendly format, divided into main parts referring to: UAV Design Principles; UAV Fundamentals; UAV Sensors and Sensing Strategies; UAV Propulsion; UAV Control; UAV Communication Issues; UAV Architectures; UAV Health Management Issues; UAV Modeling, Simulation, Estimation and Identification; MAVs and Bio-Inspired UAVs; UAV Mission and Path Planning; UAV Autonomy; UAV Sense, Detect and Avoid Systems; Networked UAVs and UAV Swarms; UAV Integration into the National Airspace; UAV-Human Interfaces and Decision Support Systems; Human Factors and Training; UAV Logistics Support; UAV Applications; Social and Ethical Implications; The Future of UAVs. Each part is written by internationally renowned authors who are authorities in their respective fields. The contents of the Handbook supports its unique character as a thorough and comprehensive reference book directed to a diverse audience of technologists, businesses, users and potential users, managers and decision makers, novices and experts, who seek a holistic volume of information that is not only a technical treatise but also a source for answers to several questions on UAV manufacturers, users, major players in UAV research, costs, training required and logistics issues.

The aim of this book is to provide an overview of recent developments in Kalman filter theory and their applications in engineering and scientific fields. The book is divided into 24 chapters and organized in five blocks corresponding to recent advances in Kalman filtering theory, applications in medical and biological sciences, tracking and positioning systems, electrical engineering and, finally, industrial processes and communication networks.

Publishes theoretical and applied original papers in dynamic systems. Theoretical papers present new theoretical developments and knowledge for controls of dynamical systems together with clear engineering motivation for the new theory. Applied papers include modeling, simulation, and corroboration of theory with emphasis on demonstrated practicality.

This book contains 35 chapters written by experts in developing techniques for making aerial vehicles more intelligent, more reliable, more flexible in use, and safer in operation.It will also serve as an inspiration for further improvement of the design and application of aeral vehicles. The advanced techniques and research described here may also be applicable to other high-tech areas such as robotics, avionics, vetronics, and space.