Sami El Ferik

Drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have gained numerous applications due to their low cost, ease of use, vertical takeover and landing, and ability to operate in high-risk or hard-to-reach areas. The contribution of this review is that of building the bridge between drone technology and its application and advancements in the field of Geographic Information System (GIS). The integration of drones and GIS is valuable as it reduces costs and improves accessibility for geospatial data collection. Traditional methods involving aircraft for aerial photography are expensive, requiring the hiring of aircraft, pilots, and photographers. Drones equipped with advanced cameras and artificial intelligence software can replace the conventional technique and at the same time, be economical and time-efficient. The integration of drones and GIS is expected to bring revolutionary benefits in the fields of precision agriculture, urban planning, emergency health response, disaster management, the development of smart cities, food delivery, etc. In this paper, a state-of-the-art review of the deployment of drone-integrated GIS applications in different fields is presented. Numerous techniques and associated challenges related to their development, formulation, implementation, and regulation are highlighted. It has been concluded that drone-integration solutions in GIS improve efficiency and accuracy, enhance the decision-making process, and facilitate better real-time monitoring. The findings of this review paper are intended to help and benefit researchers, business developers, emergency service providers, industrialists, and policymakers.

Quadrotors, commonly known as drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), play an important role in load transportation. The complex vehicles used for transporting loads and surveillance purposes can be replaced through the ease of use and mechanical simplicity of the quadrotors. This study aims to introduce a new way of controlling the slung load system of the quadrotor after applying the fractional-order sliding mode control (FOSMC) method for performance enhancement. This method in the presence of external disturbances is likely to help stabilize and track the quadrotor with minimized swinging of the attached load. The results of this study prove the robustness of FOSMC through analysis, outcomes, and graphical representations that show the effect with various angles for a clear and conceptual understanding. The present study contributes to the literature by designing a robust FOSMC for a quadrotor with the help of external disturbances. The results of this study could be applied to the development of the design of upcoming drones which can increase the efficiency as well as the accuracy of load transportation. Further applications in the fields of rescue, agriculture, construction, research, and advancement of the fraction calculus-based control method are recommended using the FOSMC method.

This research examines new methods for stabilizing linear time-delay systems that are subject to denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. The study takes into account the different effects that a DoS attack can have on the system, specifically delay-independent and -dependent behaviour. The traditional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) acts on the error signal, which is the difference between the reference input and the measured output. The approach in this paper uses what we call the PID state feedback strategy, where the controller acts on the state signal. Our proposed strategy uses the Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional (LKF) to develop new linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The study considers two scenarios where the time delay is either a continuous bounded function or a differentiable and time-varying function that falls within certain bounds. In both cases, new LMIs are derived to find the PID-like state feedback gains that will ensure robust stabilization. The findings are illustrated with numerical examples.

Fouling build-up is one of the most challenging problems for heat exchangers in industry. The presence of fouling leads to a degradation of system efficiency, an increase in operating cost, and possibly, a harmful environmental impact. For this reason, fouling analysis has become an extremely important research subject in order to have a safe and efficient operation. The analysis is more difficult where phase change of fluids is involved during the heat transfer process, as in the case of boilers and condensers, which are critical units in industrial facilities. Due to the lack of a comprehensive review of fouling analysis for the case of multiphase heat exchangers, this paper examines available approaches and techniques used for fouling characterization, modeling, monitoring, and prediction in heat exchangers for both single-phase and multiphase heat exchangers with a focus on fouling in thermal desalination systems. It also gives an overview of heat exchanger condition monitoring solutions available in the market.