The civil use of small unmanned aerial systems (sUASs): operational and safety challenges

Abstract

Purpose In the past decades, both civil and military applications of small unmanned aerial systems (sUASs) have been on the rise. The sUASs guarantee the performance of dangerous, dull, duly and dirty missions, according to the 4D rule. The purpose of this study is to describe, some ethical, operational and safety challenges occur owing to the use of sUASs at over-crowded areas or in emergency scenarios. After an overview of the current sUAS regulations, some strategic configuration elements will be analysed to improve these systems and to define safe and inoffensive sUASs. Nevertheless, some problems have not been completely overcome. Design/methodology/approach The unmanned vehicles are nowadays applied for different kinds of applications. Search and rescue (S&R) missions; terrain surveillance and monitoring after natural disasters, such as earthquakes and landslides; and transportation of medical equipment and cartography are some examples of the most renowned and important civil missions of sUAS. In all these scenarios, some challenges could be encountered. First, the use of sUASs could compromise the privacy of unaware citizens who are in the area of application. Moreover, even if the unmanned vehicle works according to national and international regulations, there are some hazards both for the ground operators and for the population, because these sUASs could impact the human body after a flight failure. Findings In this paper, current principal regulations will be analysed, identifying some differences and discrepancies among them. Moreover, some considerations about the configuration elements are introduced to define the safe use of sUASs. Nevertheless, the privacy challenge is quite complicated to be overcome definitely. Originality/value Considering some challenges related to the civil applications of sUASs, new unmanned configurations could be developed to guarantee safety and data protection of unaware people.

The emergent role of digital technologies in the context of humanitarian supply chains: a systematic literature review

“…Kiss Leizer and Tokody ( 2017 ), Giordan et al ( 2018 ), Kiss Leizer and Karoly (2018) A group of UAVs allows a Flying Ad Hoc Networks (FANET) to be eployed, which means a flexible and fast communication network able to provide crucial communication services and wireless connection for HSC in a disaster. Merwaday et al ( 2016 ), Sanchez-Garcia et al (2016) Zhao et al ( 2019 ), Ejaz et al ( 2019 ), Shakhatreh et al ( 2019 ), Zhao et al ( 2019 ), Mascarello and Quagliotti ( 2017 ) To help in damage assessment through aerial images, video inspection and sensor data to evaluate the state of key infrastructures (Chowdhury et al, 2017 ; Erdelj et al, 2017 ; Li et al, 2019 ) Natural disaster management. Ejaz et al ( 2019 ) Relief distribution.…”

“…Kiss Leizer and Tokody ( 2017 ), Giordan et al ( 2018 ), Kiss Leizer and Karoly (2018) Communication Networks. Merwaday et al ( 2016 ), Sanchez-Garcia et al (2016), Zhao et al ( 2019 ), Ejaz et al ( 2019 ), Shakhatreh et al ( 2019 ), Zhao et al ( 2019 ), Mascarello and Quagliotti ( 2017 ) Damage Assessment. (Chowdhury et al, 2017 ; Erdelj et al, 2017 ; Li et al, 2019 ) ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Virtual and augmented reality To explore the adoption of augmented reality (AR) techniques and applications in emergency situations.…”

“…A group of UAVs allows a Flying Ad Hoc Networks (FANET) to be eployed, which means a flexible and fast communication network able to provide crucial communication services and wireless connection for HSC in a disaster. Merwaday et al ( 2016 ), Sanchez-Garcia et al (2016) Zhao et al ( 2019 ), Ejaz et al ( 2019 ), Shakhatreh et al ( 2019 ), Zhao et al ( 2019 ), Mascarello and Quagliotti ( 2017 )…”