IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - November/December 2021 - 16

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Table 5. UAV classification based on weight and
wingspan.9.
Class
UAV
Small UAV
MAV (microair vehicle)
NAV (nanoair vehicle)
PAV (pico air vehicle)
Smart Dust
Weight WingSpan
>5Kg
5Kg
2Kg
50 g
3g
0.5 g
>2m
2m
1m
15 m
2.5 cm
0.25 cm
Table 5 describes the classification of UAVs by
Hassanalian and Abdelkefi.9 This classification,
however, is too broad, and the authors did not
take into consideration the endurance, range, or
the mission type in the classification.
APPLICATIONS OF UAVs
UAV applications can be categorized into
three main domains based on the purpose of flying
UAVs; recreational, commercial, and military.
The application domains of UAVs also provide a
means of classification of UAVs. In this section,
we elaborate on the applications of UAVs in recreational,
commercial, and military domains.
Recreational
Any UAV flown for the sole purpose of entertainment
and fun by hobbyists is categorized as
a recreational UAV. Usually, this type of UAV
contains the least sophisticated equipment and
sensors. Recreational UAVs are sold as ready to
fly or bind and fly where most of the UAV components
are already installed, programmed, and
calibrated. The user just put the parts together
and charge the battery to fly. The typical usage
for recreational UAVs is mostly aerial photography
and first-person-view (FPV) flying; hence,
the manufacturers focus on the camera quality,
gimbal stabilization, and obstacle detection.
Some examples of recreational UAVs are DJI
Mavic, Parrot FPV Drone, and Skyhunter.
Commercial
Advanced and specialized UAVs that are made
for a specific purpose or task are considered commercial
UAVs. Official training and licensing are a
16
Figure 4. Applications of commercial UAVs.
(i) Agricultural UAV spraying pesticides on crops.
(ii) Inspection and monitoring UAV inspecting
bridges and power-lines.
requirement to fly a commercial UAV. Some of the
applications for commercial UAVs are agriculture,
inspection and monitoring, logistics and
delivery, surveying and mapping, search and rescue,
and professional cinematography. The size
and body type of the UAV depends on the specific
mission and the payloads to be carried. Figure 4
illustrates some of the applications of commercial
UAVs. Table 6 compares some of the most commonly
used commercial UAVs in terms of maximum
speed, endurance or flight time, payloads,
main applications, and cost. In the following, we
discuss in more detail some of the commercial
applications of UAVs.
Agriculture: Agricultural UAVs are typically
equipped with FPV cameras, LiDAR, multispectral
sensors, obstacle avoidance sensors, and a
tank and sprayers. These UAVs are used to monitor
the crop health and soil quality. Agricultural
UAVs are instrumental for precision agriculture.
The tanks outfitted on agricultural UAVs are
used to supply water and fertilizer to water- and
nutrient-stressed areas of crops and pesticides
to infested crop portions. The UAVs are also utilized
to provide a live feed for livestock monitoring.
Some of the common agricultural UAVs are
the multirotor DJI Agras MG-1 and the fixed-wing
PrecisionHawk Lancaster.
Inspection and Monitoring: Inspection and monitoring
applications require that the UAV be
equipped with an FPV camera, thermal cameras,
proximity sensors, multigas detector, and a lighting
system. Some of these applications even
require a UAV to be equipped with a protective
frame. These UAVs are used to inspect objects that
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