drones

Editorial
Special Issue on Intelligent Image Processing and Sensing
for Drones
Seokwon Yeom

Department of AI, Daegu University, Gyeongsan 38453, Republic of Korea; [email protected];

Tel.: +82-53-850-6643

1. Introduction
Recently, the use of drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for various purposes
has been increasing [1]. Drones can be remotely controlled or programmed to capture
scenes from a distance. This capture method is cost-effective and does not require highly
trained personnel. Drones are widely used in various applications such as industrial
and infrastructure inspections [2,3], agricultural and environmental monitoring [4,5], geo-
graphical surveying [6], search and rescue missions [7], security and surveillance [8], and
so on.
Multiple sensors can be mounted on a drone. In addition to visible cameras, infrared
thermal imaging and multispectral imaging equipment can be mounted on a drone [9,10].
LiDAR and SAR are active sensors that can be used in drones [11–13]. These mobile aerial
imaging sensors provide a new perspective on research and development for a variety of
applications. However, more challenges are often posed than fixed and ground sensors
because of the unique sensing environments and limited resources of drones. Certainly,
information acquired by a drone is of tremendous value; thus, intelligent analysis of the
data is necessary to make the best use of them.
This Special Issue focuses on a wide range of intelligent processing of images and
sensor data acquired by drones. The objectives of intelligent processing range from the
refinement of raw data to the extraction and processing of featured attributes and the
symbolic representation or visualization of the real world. This can be achieved through
image/signal processing or deep/machine learning algorithms. The latest technological
developments will be shared through this Special Issue. Researchers and investigators are
invited to contribute original research or review articles to this Special Issue.
Citation: Yeom, S. Special Issue on
Eight research papers and two review papers were verified through a thorough review
Intelligent Image Processing and
process. Many valuable and recent technologies have been provided in the selected papers
Sensing for Drones. Drones 2024, 8, 87.
to solve real problems. The first volume of this Special Issue on the topic is closed; more
https://doi.org/10.3390/
in-depth research on the same topic is expected in the second volume of this Special Issue.
drones8030087
It is anticipated that the scope of intelligent processing will be even broader in the future.
Received: 28 February 2024
Accepted: 29 February 2024 2. Overview of Published Articles
Published: 4 March 2024 This Special Issue was introduced to collect the latest research on relevant topics,
and more importantly, to address the current practical and theoretical challenges. In the
following, papers are categorized into several subtopics: industrial applications, positioning
Copyright: © 2024 by the author.
and tracking, visualization of the real world, and advances in computer vision.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
2.1. Industrial Applications
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and In the first contribution entitled ‘Method for Complex Road Cracks Collected by UAV
conditions of the Creative Commons Based on HC-Unet++’, Cao, H.; Gao, Y.; Cai, W.; Xu, Z.; and Li, L. proposed a new deep
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// learning network model called HC-Unet++ for the detection and segmentation of road
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ cracks. Their method is based on convolutional neural networks, and they show that UAV
4.0/). aerial photography plays an important role in road maintenance and traffic safety. The new

Drones 2024, 8, 87. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones8030087 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/drones

Drones 2024, 8, 87 2 of 4

network model can eliminate complex backgrounds, effectively detect cracks of various
irregular shapes, and reduce crack discontinuity.
Detection of power lines and transmission towers is critical for the safety of power grid
operations. The second contribution entitled ‘Transmission Line Segmentation Solutions
for UAV Aerial Photography Based on Improved UNet’ by He, M.; Qin, L.; Deng, X.; Zhou,
S.; Liu, H.; and Liu, K. enhances the UNet algorithm, which is a deep learning segmentation
model. The authors improved the UNet algorithm by extracting features using a lightweight
backbone structure and then reconstructing them into contextual information features.
Ali, M.A.H.; Baggash, M.; Rustamov, J.; Abdulghafor, R.; Abdo, N.A.-D.N.; Abdo,
M.H.G.; Mohammed, T.S.; Hasan, A.A.; Abdo, A.N.; Turaev, S.; et al., in the third contri-
bution entitled by ‘An Automatic Visual Inspection of Oil Tanks Exterior Surface Using
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with Image Processing and Cascading Fuzzy Logic Algorithms’,
proposed a method for visual inspection of external surface defects on oil tanks. Two
cascade fuzzy logic algorithms were developed to detect defects and remove noise.
The fourth contribution is a review paper entitled ‘An Overview of Drone Applications
in the Construction Industry’. Choi, H.-W.; Kim, H.-J.; Kim, S.-K.; and Na, W.S. presented a
comprehensive overview of the applications of drones in the construction industry. The
introduction of drones into the construction industry has brought about revolutionary
advancements in all phases of construction projects. For example, drones equipped with
high-resolution cameras in the design phases have revolutionized field surveys and aerial
mapping. During the construction phase, drones play an important role in monitoring
and inspecting the construction progress and ensuring safety. Drones can also efficiently
detect and identify damage, enabling proactive maintenance, cost reductions, and extended
asset lives.

2.2. Positioning, Detection, and Tracking

UAV landing technology is a critical tool that allows drones to land without human
intervention, improving safety, efficiency, and operability in remote or challenging envi-
ronments. However, high-precision autonomous landing is still a major challenge. Xu,
Y.; Zhong, D.; Zhou, J.; Jiang, Z.; Zhai, Y.; and Ying, Z described, in the fifth contribution
entitled ‘A Novel UAV Visual Positioning Algorithm Based on A-YOLOX’, a UAV position-
ing algorithm called attention-based YOLOX, which improves the accuracy of automatic
landings for UAVs.
While the use of drones offers significant benefits for a variety of applications, it also
presents a number of hazards. These hazards range from concerns about privacy and
security to risks of physical injury and environmental impacts. In the sixth contribution
entitled ‘Non-Linear Signal Processing Methods for UAV Detections from a Multi-Function
X-Band Radar’, Kumar, M. and Kelly, P.K. developed a nonlinear processing technique for
UAV detection using a portable radar system.
Drones have become an invaluable tool in search and rescue (SAR) missions. In the
seventh contribution entitled ‘Thermal Image Tracking for Search and Rescue Missions
with a Drone’, Yeom, S. developed an effective thermal image tracking method. His
method shows promising results for handling challenging environments such as complex
backgrounds, heavy occlusions, and complex maneuvering of drones.

2.3. Visualization of the Real World

Amala Arokia Nathan, R.J.; Kurmi, I.; and Bimber, O., in the eighth contribution enti-
tled ‘Inverse Airborne Optical Sectioning’, presented inverse airborne optical sectioning, an
optical analogy to inverse synthetic aperture radar. Moving targets, such as walking people,
that are heavily occluded by vegetation can be made visible and tracked using cameras on
drones hovering over forests. They introduced the principles of inverse synthetic aperture
imaging and suppressed the signal of occluders by filtering the Radon transform of the
image integral.
Drones 2024, 8, 87 3 of 4

The development of UAVs has significantly increased the type and number of datasets
available for image synthesis. An improved image synthesis model, SYGAN, was proposed
in the ninth contribution entitled ‘Improved Image Synthesis with Attention Mechanism for
Virtual Scenes via UAV Imagery’ by Mo, L.; Zhu, Y.; Wang, G.; Yi, X.; Wu, X.; and Wu, P. A
spatial adaptive normalization module and a sparse attention mechanism were introduced
on the basis of a generative adversarial network (GAN) for image synthesis.

2.4. Potentials of Drones in Computer Vision

Vision transformers can be used for various computer vision applications, including
image classification, object detection, image segmentation, image compression, image
super-resolution, image denoising, anomaly detection, and drone imagery. In the tenth
contribution entitled ‘A Comprehensive Survey of Transformers for Computer Vision’,
Jamil, S.; Jalil Piran, M.; and Kwon, O.-J. reviewed the state of the art and compiled a list of
available models and discussed the pros and cons of each vision transformer model.

3. Conclusions
This Special Issue covers various applications of images and signals acquired by
drones. It also shows a wide range of potential as well as the versatility of drones in the
near future, encompassing a richness of research fields. This is reflected in the wide range
of methodologies adopted in the studies, including deep learning, traditional machine
learning, signal and image processing, and estimation theory. From a methodological
perspective, deep learning appears in five of the eight research papers (Contributions 1, 2,
5, 7, 9). Among them, a deep learning method was combined with estimation theory in
Contribution 7. Two papers (Contributions 6 and 8) take advantage of methods using the
signal processing regime, and one paper (Contribution 3) combines image processing with
machine learning algorithms. It is anticipated that research in the field of deep learning will
increase further, while different approaches can potentially be combined with one another
in this era of rapid change and development.
As a final note, I would like to thank all the authors contributing to this Special Issue.
I also appreciate the dedicated reviewers and editors for their efforts and expertise. I
sincerely hope that readers will find great inspiration from current and future technologies
related to drones in this Special Issue.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

List of Contributions
1. Cao, H.; Gao, Y.; Cai, W.; Xu, Z.; Li, L. Segmentation Detection Method for Complex Road
Cracks Collected by UAV Based on HC-Unet++. Drones 2023, 7, 189. https://doi.org/10.3390/
drones7030189.
2. He, M.; Qin, L.; Deng, X.; Zhou, S.; Liu, H.; Liu, K. Transmission Line Segmentation Solutions
for UAV Aerial Photography Based on Improved UNet. Drones 2023, 7, 274. https://doi.org/10
.3390/drones7040274.
3. Ali, M.A.H.; Baggash, M.; Rustamov, J.; Abdulghafor, R.; Abdo, N.A.-D.N.; Abdo, M.H.G.;
Mohammed, T.S.; Hasan, A.A.; Abdo, A.N.; Turaev, S.; et al. An Automatic Visual Inspection of
Oil Tanks Exterior Surface Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with Image Processing and Cascading
Fuzzy Logic Algorithms. Drones 2023, 7, 133. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones7020133.
4. Choi, H.-W.; Kim, H.-J.; Kim, S.-K.; Na, W.S. An Overview of Drone Applications in the
Construction Industry. Drones 2023, 7, 515. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones7080515.
5. Xu, Y.; Zhong, D.; Zhou, J.; Jiang, Z.; Zhai, Y.; Ying, Z. A Novel UAV Visual Positioning
Algorithm Based on A-YOLOX. Drones 2022, 6, 362. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones6110362.
6. Kumar, M.; Kelly, P.K. Non-Linear Signal Processing Methods for UAV Detections from a
Multi-Function X-Band Radar. Drones 2023, 7, 251. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones7040251.
7. Yeom, S. Thermal Image Tracking for Search and Rescue Missions with a Drone. Drones 2024, 8,
53. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones8020053.
8. Amala Arokia Nathan, R.J.; Kurmi, I.; Bimber, O. Inverse Airborne Optical Sectioning. Drones 2022,
6, 231. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones6090231.
Drones 2024, 8, 87 4 of 4

9. Mo, L.; Zhu, Y.; Wang, G.; Yi, X.; Wu, X.; Wu, P. Improved Image Synthesis with Attention
Mechanism for Virtual Scenes via UAV Imagery. Drones 2023, 7, 160. https://doi.org/10.3390/
drones7030160.
10. Jamil, S.; Jalil Piran, M.; Kwon, O.-J. A Comprehensive Survey of Transformers for Computer
Vision. Drones 2023, 7, 287. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones7050287.

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