UAV for Remote Sensing Applications: An Analytical Review

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have occupied a pertinent space in the field of remote sensing in recent years. UAVs are powered aircraft with pre-programmed flight planning. They are operated remotely. UAVs also known as drones can propose a practical and sustainable alternative to traditional platforms when it comes to procuring cost-effective high-resolution remote sensing data, greater versatility and operational flexibility. The practical use of UAV remote sensing in various fields like environmental studies, disaster management, flood monitoring system, archaeology, land-use dynamic monitoring, meteorological disaster monitoring, fighting COVID-19 pandemic, etc., is considered to have enhanced the application domains. Moreover, the effective use of UAVs for acquiring digital elevation model (DEM) data renders analytical advantages in a wide range of remote sensing applications. The need of the hour is to examine and religiously work on the diverse research aspects and trends of UAV remote sensing to augment its regular use. This paper reviews and examines the innumerable benefits and significance of the use of UAV platform for remote sensing applications in various fields.