Vision-Based Anti-Unmanned Aerial Technology: Opportunities and challenges

With the rapid advancement of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology and its extensive application in various fields such as military reconnaissance, environmental monitoring, and logistics, achieving efficient and accurate anti-UAV tracking has become essential. The importance of anti-UAV tracking is increasingly prominent, especially in scenarios such as public safety, border patrol, search and rescue, and agricultural monitoring, where operations in complex environments can provide enhanced security. Current mainstream anti-UAV tracking technologies are primarily centered around computer vision techniques, particularly those that integrate multisensor data fusion with advanced detection and tracking algorithms. This article first reviews the characteristics and current challenges of anti-UAV detection and tracking technologies. Next, it investigates and compiles several publicly available datasets, providing accessible links to support researchers in efficiently addressing related challenges. Furthermore, the article analyzes the major vision-based and vision-fusion-based anti-UAV detection and tracking algorithms proposed in recent years. Finally, based on the previous research, this article outlines future research directions, aiming to provide valuable insights for advancing the field.