Cited by 223Advanced Neural Network ApplicationsUAV Applications and OptimizationSmart Agriculture and AI

YOLO-Based UAV Technology: A Review of the Research and Its Applications

Open access
Chen, Chunling, Zheng, Ziyue, Xu, Tongyu, Guo, Shuang, Feng, Shuai, Yao, Weixiang, Lan, Yubin·2023·Drones

Abstract

In recent decades, scientific and technological developments have continued to increase in speed, with researchers focusing not only on the innovation of single technologies but also on the cross-fertilization of multidisciplinary technologies. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology has seen great progress in many aspects, such as geometric structure, flight characteristics, and navigation control. The You Only Look Once (YOLO) algorithm was developed and has been refined over the years to provide satisfactory performance for the real-time detection and classification of multiple targets. In the context of technology cross-fusion becoming a new focus, researchers have proposed YOLO-based UAV technology (YBUT) by integrating the above two technologies. This proposed integration succeeds in strengthening the application of emerging technologies and expanding the idea of the development of YOLO algorithms and drone technology. Therefore, this paper presents the development history of YBUT with reviews of the practical applications of YBUT in engineering, transportation, agriculture, automation, and other fields. The aim is to help new users to quickly understand YBUT and to help researchers, consumers, and stakeholders to quickly understand the research progress of the technology. The future of YBUT is also discussed to help explore the application of this technology in new areas.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3390/drones7030190

Cites

164 of 164 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Several prior reviews of YOLO architectures focus on specific YOLO variants or particular application domains.

    “Although several papers have reviewed YOLO architectures, they often exhibit limitations such as focusing on specific YOLO variants [10], [11], or concentrating on particular application domains [12].”

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Authors
Chen, C., Zheng, Z., Xu, T., Guo, S., Feng, S., Yao, W., & Lan, Y.
Affiliations
  • Shenyang Agricultural University (CN)
  • South China Agricultural University (CN)
Corresponding author
  • Yao, Weixiang
  • Lan, Yubin
Venue
Drones
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2023-03-10
Volume
7
Issue
3
Pages
190
ISSN
2504-446X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4324061701
Cited by
223
References
169
Citations by year
2026: 62 · 2025: 81 · 2024: 56 · 2023: 24
FWCI
20.26
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Drones (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • General Program of Liaoning Provincial Educational Department (LJKMZ20221059, LSNZD202005, D18019)
  • Key Tackling Program of Liaoning Provincial Educational Department (LJKMZ20221059, LSNZD202005, D18019)
  • the 111 Project (LJKMZ20221059, LSNZD202005, D18019)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Advanced Neural Network Applications
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Aerospace Engineering › UAV Applications and Optimization
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Smart Agriculture and AI
Keywords
YOLO, unmanned aerial vehicles, object detection, real-time object detection, drone technology, technology integration, UAV applications, agricultural drones, transportation, automation

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