From GPS to AI: A comprehensive review of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) localization solutions

IF 12.2 1区地球科学 Q1 GEOGRAPHY, PHYSICAL

ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Pub Date : 2025-10-03 DOI:10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2025.09.014

Fahad Lateef, Mohamed Kas, Yassine Ruichek

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology has undergone significant advances, revolutionizing aerial operations in various sectors by offering adaptability, cost-effectiveness, mobility, and rapid deployment capabilities. Effective UAV navigation depends on several critical factors, with localization being paramount. This study presents a detailed taxonomy of existing UAV localization solutions, which are classified and thoroughly examined in terms of architectural design, technologies employed, data used, applications, performance, and their respective advantages and limitations. This article offers a more comprehensive and up-to-date review of UAV localization solutions and challenges, incorporating solutions from satellite, radio, vision, inertial, lidar, magnetic, acoustic, ultrasonic, and deep learning technologies, exceeding the scope of related surveys. Furthermore, the study explores the essential datasets crucial for UAV localization research, providing detailed information on their specifications and characteristics. By synthesizing all the information, the article highlights existing challenges and potential avenues for future research to advance UAV localization techniques and enhance comprehension of their efficacy across various operational scenarios.

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从GPS到AI：无人机（UAV）定位解决方案的全面回顾

无人机（UAV）技术已经取得了重大进展，通过提供适应性、成本效益、机动性和快速部署能力，在各个领域彻底改变了空中作战。有效的无人机导航依赖于几个关键因素，其中定位是最重要的。本研究对现有的无人机定位解决方案进行了详细的分类，并从架构设计、采用的技术、使用的数据、应用、性能以及各自的优势和局限性等方面对其进行了分类和彻底的检查。本文对无人机定位解决方案和挑战进行了更全面和最新的回顾，结合了卫星，无线电，视觉，惯性，激光雷达，磁性，声学，超声波和深度学习技术的解决方案，超出了相关调查的范围。此外，该研究还探索了无人机定位研究的关键数据集，提供了有关其规格和特征的详细信息。通过综合所有信息，本文强调了现有的挑战和未来研究的潜在途径，以推进无人机定位技术，并增强对其在各种作战场景中的有效性的理解。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 工程技术-成像科学与照相技术

CiteScore

21.00

自引率

6.30%

发文量

273

审稿时长

40 days

期刊介绍： The ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (P&RS) serves as the official journal of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS). It acts as a platform for scientists and professionals worldwide who are involved in various disciplines that utilize photogrammetry, remote sensing, spatial information systems, computer vision, and related fields. The journal aims to facilitate communication and dissemination of advancements in these disciplines, while also acting as a comprehensive source of reference and archive. P&RS endeavors to publish high-quality, peer-reviewed research papers that are preferably original and have not been published before. These papers can cover scientific/research, technological development, or application/practical aspects. Additionally, the journal welcomes papers that are based on presentations from ISPRS meetings, as long as they are considered significant contributions to the aforementioned fields. In particular, P&RS encourages the submission of papers that are of broad scientific interest, showcase innovative applications (especially in emerging fields), have an interdisciplinary focus, discuss topics that have received limited attention in P&RS or related journals, or explore new directions in scientific or professional realms. It is preferred that theoretical papers include practical applications, while papers focusing on systems and applications should include a theoretical background.