Scanning the Issue

The authors provide a meta-review across nearly 100 extant surveys on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) applications and overview papers, extract their key messages, and investigate the extent of being complementary. Based on the findings of their survey analysis, they developed the so-called AERIAL framework, which aggregates the major challenges on the way to a successful application of UAVs for logistics, mobility, and monitoring. The framework covers the following aspects: 1) acceptance and heterogeneities; 2) economy and demand; 3) reliability and risks; 4) infrastructure and optimization; 5) automation and control; and 6) liability and standardization. They believe that their AERIAL framework and meta-review contribute towards a clearer understanding of the scientific UAV landscape challenges and the identification of potential directions for future research studies.