Unmanned aerial vehicles applications in future smart cities

Abstract Foreseeing changes in how smart cities manage their resources and provide services to the residents; research, development and production in various relevant technology fields is accelerating. Taking advantage of recent advances and innovations in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), robotics and software; smart cities can optimize resources utilization and enhance operations in health, transportation, energy, and water services, as well as elevating the level of comfort of residents. Effectively and efficiently utilizing ICT and robotics in smart cities will result in reducing costs and resources consumption in addition to engaging more effectively and actively with the citizens. One of these technologies is the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which can provide many applications for smart cities and create a positive impact on the society. For example, UAVs can be used for environmental monitoring, traffic management, pollution monitoring, civil security control, and merchandise delivery. UAV applications among several others can provide cost-effective services to help achieve the objectives of smart cities. However, the integration of UAVs in smart cities is very challenging due to several issues and concerns such as safety, privacy and ethical/legal use. This paper reviews the potential applications integrating UAVs in smart cities, their implications, and the technical and non-technical issues facing such integration. It also discusses regulations and enabling technologies currently available and being developed that can be utilized to support such integration.