New Trends in Unmanned Aerial Systems as Remote Measurement Systems

Abstract

The application fields of modern Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), such as light Remotely-Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), are moving from military fields to a wide range of civilian applications. These platforms embed several sensors that enable the use of RPASs as mobile remote measurement systems. This chapter deals with a survey of measurement applications based on RPAS. In the first part, an overview of the architecture of a RPAS is given. Then, a review of sensors used for RPAS flight and for mission tasks is discussed. Attention is paid to measurement uncertainty sources. Therefore, RPAS as a mobile remote measurement system is analyzed and a design guideline is described. Several examples of embedded measurement systems included in RPAS are described. A review of civilian applications using the RPAS as a remote measurement system is presented and discussed. Issues concerning RPAS safety and testing are analyzed. The new trend in the field of insurance for RPAS users is discussed. Finally, RPAS security is introduced. Conclusions and future trends end the chapter.