Brief Introduction to Unmanned Aerial Systems

People have gotten used to seeing what is generally known as a drone in many aspects of life in the last two decades. Present in a great variety of events, it is now considered as a key asset for security, industry, sports, or as a hobby. However, the idea of a manned or unmanned aircraft is quite older than the public might think. Although the television industry brought the operations of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) during the First Gulf WarGulf War in the early 1990s to screens, the remote-controlled and autonomous aerial vehicles date to several years and run parallel to the history of aviation. This introduction reviews the path that Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) have undergone throughout the years, from the very early and simple pioneers to the latest developments, with many applications in different areas of life. A clear distinction between the numerous terms is also delved to provide an overview of the several elements that comprise a whole aircraft system, and all companion systems that make the mission possible. Finally, this chapter provides a classification of these aerial systems, specifically focusing on their structure, and how they fly.