Advancements in UAV-Enabled Intelligent Transportation Systems: A Three-Layered Framework and Future Directions

Featured Application: This paper addresses the practical application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in modern transportation systems, mainly focusing on how UAVs can be effectively integrated into intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) to improve efficiency, safety, and decision-making in smart cities. It offers a framework for understanding current advancements and guides future research and development in this evolving field. Integrating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) will be pivotal in shaping next-generation smart cities. This paper proposes a novel three-layered framework for integrating UAVs into intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) and reviews the current developments, challenges, and future directions in this emerging field. This framework provides a comprehensive overview of the key components of UAV-integrated ITSs, encompassing UAV specifications and deployment strategies, communication networks, and data utilization for traffic management. The first layer explores UAVs’ technical specifications, deployment strategies, and trajectory optimization, essential for maximizing UAV performance in transportation contexts. The second layer addresses the communication networks between UAVs and vehicles, along with the use of UAVs for responsive traffic monitoring. This includes the development of robust communication protocols and real-time traffic analysis to enhance system efficiency. The third layer focuses on advanced data collection processing techniques and complexities, reviewing the methods for analyzing the traffic data collected by UAVs for decision-making in transportation management. Moreover, the paper presents the current UAV-enabled ITS implementation, highlighting key challenges and future research directions. By providing a comprehensive overview of UAV-enabled ITSs, this study presents a significant portrayal of the current landscape of UAV integration in ITSs and serves as a foundation for future advancements in smart city infrastructure.