Deep learning for unmanned aerial vehicles detection: A review

As a new type of aerial robotics, drones are easy to use and inexpensive, which has facilitated their acquisition by individuals and organizations. This unequivocal and widespread presence of amateur drones may cause many dangers, such as privacy breaches by reaching sensitive locations of authorities and individuals. In this paper, we summarize the performance-affecting factors and major obstacles to drone use and provide a brief background of deep learning. Then, we summarize the types of UAVs and the related unethical behaviors, safety, privacy, and cybersecurity concerns. Then, we present a comprehensive literature review of current drone detection methods based on deep learning. This area of research has arisen in the last two decades because of the rapid advancement of commercial and recreational drones and their combined risk to the safety of airspace. Various deep learning algorithms and their frameworks with respect to the techniques used to detect drones and their areas of applications are also discussed. Drone detection techniques are classified into four categories: visual, radar, acoustics, and radio frequency-based approaches. The findings of this study prove that deep learning-based detection and classification of drones looks promising despite several challenges. Finally, we provide some recommendations to meet future expectations.