Oluwatosin Ahmed Amodu¹, Zurina Mohd Hanapi^1,*, Raja Azlina Raja Mahmood¹, Faten A. Saif², Huda Althumali³, Chedia Jarray⁴, Umar Ali Bukar⁵, Mohammed Sani Adam⁶

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.88, No.1, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2026.074678 - 08 May 2026

Abstract Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), encompassing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), low-/high-altitude platforms (LAPs/HAPs), and satellite systems, are increasingly enabling Internet of Things (IoT) applications beyond the limits of terrestrial infrastructure. By combining UAV mobility with satellite and HAP coverage, NTN-assisted IoT supports diverse use cases, including remote sensing, smart cities, intelligent transportation, and emergency response. This paper presents a systematic mapping of machine learning (ML) research in NTN-assisted IoT with a focus on security-related aspects. A keyword co-occurrence analysis of over 2000 publications identifies twelve thematic clusters, including three clusters directly related to security, privacy, and trust.… More >

Lyu Guanghua¹, Dingxiao Jiao², Abdulrahman AlKassem³, Dakan Ying¹, Rizwan Arshad¹, Jiahua Ni¹, Zhe Liu¹, Syed Hadi Hussain Shah^1,*

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.22, No.4, 2026, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2026.077648 - 07 May 2026

Abstract Desert photovoltaic, PV, installations experience significant efficiency losses due to dust accumulation, which also promotes localized overheating, known as hotspots, caused by uneven solar irradiance and partial cell shading. These hotspots can accelerate material degradation and increase the risk of permanent panel damage. This study presents an autonomous maintenance strategy based on a cooperative swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs, enabling contactless dust removal and active hotspot cooling. The approach combines high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics to characterize aerodynamic downwash for effective dust detachment with fluid–structure interaction analysis to verify the structural integrity of PV panels… More >

Minjeong Kang¹, Jung Hoon Lee^1,*, Il-Gu Lee^2,*

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.147, No.1, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2026.078247 - 27 April 2026

Abstract In next-generation non-terrestrial network environments, the increasing risk of detection by unauthorized observers has motivated extensive research on covert communication approaches that minimize the probability of detection. In particular, jamming-assisted cooperative covert communication has attracted significant attention as an effective approach to simultaneously ensure communication performance and security, leading to growing interest in cooperative architectures among heterogeneous platforms. This study investigates covert communication in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite–unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) cooperative networks, where the LEO satellite serves a legitimate user, while the UAV acts as a cooperative jammer to enhance covertness. A network… More >

Nourdine Aliane^*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.87, No.3, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2026.078545 - 09 April 2026

Abstract The rapid advancement of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies has increased demand for flexible autopilot platforms suitable for both research and education. Among available options, the open-source Pixhawk/PX4 autopilot has emerged as a leading solution due to its modular architecture and robust software ecosystem. This survey examines the adoption of the Pixhawk/PX4 platform in research and education. The survey covers the analysis of the Pixhawk/PX4 autopilot software development APIs, its compatibility with ROS middleware and MATLAB/Simulink environments, and environments for software/hardware-in-the-loop simulations. Additionally, it explores the integration of Cutting-Edge technologies to enhance UAVs performance. By More >

Jiajia Liu^1,2, Shuchen Pang³, Peng Xie³, Haitao Zhou³, Chenxi Du³, Haoran Hu³, Bo Tang³, Jianhua Liu³, Fei Jia¹, Huibing Zhang^1,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.87, No.3, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2026.077824 - 09 April 2026

Abstract In the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) assisted edge computing system, the broadcast characteristics of the UAV signal, the high mobility of the UAV, and the limited airborne energy make the task offloading strategy face challenges such as increased risk of information disclosure, limited computing resources, and the trade-off between energy consumption and flight time. To address these issues, we propose a K-means in-depth reinforcement learning algorithm based on Soft Actor-Critic (SAC). The proposed method first leverages the K-means clustering algorithm to determine the optimal deployment of ground jammers based on the final distribution of mobile… More >

Kiseok Kim^#, Taehoon Yoo^#, Sangmin Lee, Hwangnam Kim^*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.87, No.3, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2026.077415 - 09 April 2026

Abstract Conventional Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA) constrains weight updates to a static linear low-rank manifold, which is inherently limited when applied to Reinforcement Learning (RL) tasks for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) applications. UAVs operate in highly dynamic and nonstationary environments where rapid variations in sensing and state transitions lead to complex, nonlinear input–output relationships. Such environmental complexity cannot be adequately modeled by a static Low-rank approximation, making conventional LoRA approaches insufficient for the high-dimensional dynamics required in UAV applications. To overcome these limitations, we propose an attention-enhanced LoRA that constructs an input-dependent and intrinsically nonlinear adaptation manifold.… More >

Ching-Lung Fan^*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.87, No.3, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2026.077260 - 09 April 2026

Abstract Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images have high spatial resolution and are cost-effective to acquire. UAV platforms are easy to control, and the prevalence of UAVs has led to an emerging field of remote sensing technologies. However, the details of high-resolution images often lead to fragmented classification results and significant scale differences between objects. Additionally, distinguishing between objects on the basis of shape or textural characteristics can be difficult. Conventional classification methods based on pixels and objects can indeed be ineffective at detecting complex and fine-scale land use and land cover (LULC) features. Therefore, in this More >

Yanping Chen¹, Zhengxin Zhan¹, Xiaohui Yan¹, Le Zou^1,*, Yucheng Zhong¹, Hailei Wang²

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.87, No.2, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2026.075459 - 12 March 2026

Abstract With the increasing complexity of substation inspection tasks, achieving efficient and safe path planning for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in densely populated and structurally complex three-dimensional (3D) environments remains a critical challenge. To address this problem, this paper proposes an improved path planning algorithm—Random Geometric Graph (RGG)-guided Rapidly-exploring Random Tree (R-RRT)—based on the classical Rapidly-exploring Random Tree (RRT) framework. First, a refined 3D occupancy grid map is constructed from Light Detection and Ranging point cloud data through ground filtering, noise removal, coordinate transformation, and obstacle inflation using spherical structuring elements. During the planning stage, a dynamic… More >

Chu Thi Minh Hue¹, Nguyen Minh Quy^2,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.87, No.2, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2026.074398 - 12 March 2026

Abstract Nowadays, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are making increasingly important contributions to numerous applications that enhance human quality of life, such as sensing and data collection, computing, and communication. However, communication between UAVs still faces challenges due to high-dynamic topology, volatile wireless links, and strict energy budgets. In this work, we introduce an improved communication scheme, namely Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO). Our solution casts hop–by–hop relay selection as a Markov decision process and develops a decentralized Proximal Policy Optimization framework in an actor–critic form. A key novelty is the design of the reward function, which jointly More >

Rui Yao^1,2, Yuye Wang^1,2,*, Fei Yu^1,2,3,*, Hongrun Wu^1,2, Zhenya Diao^1,2

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.87, No.2, 2026, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2026.073861 - 12 March 2026

Abstract Path planning for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in complex environments presents several challenges. Traditional algorithms often struggle with the complexity of high-dimensional search spaces, leading to inefficiencies. Additionally, the non-linear nature of cost functions can cause algorithms to become trapped in local optima. Furthermore, there is often a lack of adequate consideration for real-world constraints, for example, due to the necessity for obstacle avoidance or because of the restrictions of flight safety. To address the aforementioned issues, this paper proposes a dynamic weighted spherical particle swarm optimization (DW-SPSO) algorithm. The algorithm adopts a dual Sigmoid-based More >