Unmanned vehicles/systems (UVs/USs) technology has exploded in recent years. Unmanned vehicles are operated in the air, on the ground, or on/in the water. Unmanned vehicles play a more significant role in many civil application domains, such as remote sensing, surveillance, precision agriculture and rescue operations rather than manned systems. Unmanned vehicles outperform manned systems in terms of mission safety and operational costs. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are widely utilized in the civil infrastructure because of their low maintenance costs, ease of deployment, hovering capability, and excellent mobility. The UAVs can gather photographs faster and more accurately than satellite imagery, allowing for more prompt assessment. This study provides a comprehensive overview of UAV civil applications, including classification and requirements. Also encompassed with research trends, critical civil challenges, and future insights on how UAVs with artificial intelligence (smart AI). Furthermore, this paper discusses the specifications of several drone models and simulators. According to the literature review, precision agriculture is one of the civil applications of smart UAVs. Unmanned aerial vehicles aid in the detection of weeds, crop management, and the identification of plant diseases, among other issues, paving the path for researchers to create drone applications in the future.

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