An Overview of UAVs for Spatial Modeling and Urban Informatics

The recent growth of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for research is astounding. UAVs provide a unique platform for developing a geospatial intelligence data portfolio to enhance public safety and disaster management, optimize energy consumption, and improve cities’ environment and quality of life. However, given the breadth of applications and the diversity of research domains leveraging UAVs, the scale and scope of this work are difficult to parse. This chapter aims to provide a brief overview of urban UAV research using scientometric analysis techniques. Specifically, we constructed a co-citation and co-occurrence network for exploring key research themes and seminal papers to highlight the evolution of UAV research over the past decade. We conclude this chapter by providing an organizational overview of the book and its contents by chapter.