Introduction to Unmanned Aircraft Systems is the editors response to their unsuccessful search for suitable university-level textbooks on this subject. A collection of contributions from top experts, this book applies the depth of their expertise to identify and survey the fundamentals of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations. Written from a nonengineering civilian operational perspective, the book starts by detailing the history of UASs and then explores current technology and what is expected for the future.

Topics covered include:

The U.S. aviation regulatory system

Certificate of authorization process

UAS for geospatial data

Automation and autonomy in UAS

Sensors and payloads

With helpful end-of-chapter discussion questions, this resource is designed to give beginning university students and other new entrants to the field a comprehensive, easy-to-understand first overview of the field. The books broad scope also makes it useful as a foundation for professionals embarking on further study.

Covering all facets of UAS elements and operationincluding an examination of safety procedures and human factorsthis material gives readers a truly complete and practical understanding of what it takes to safely operate UASs for a variety of missions in the National Airspace System.