Unmanned aerial vehicles in the Smart City project: prospects and new opportunities
The analysis of the directions to use the technology of unmanned aerial vehicles is carried out. The directions that can be integrated into the departmental project of the urban economy digitalisation "Smart City" of the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation are identified. For a comprehensive assessment of the impact of technology on the social and economic aspects of citizens' lives, the authors analyzed both domestic and foreign scientific researches, reviews of services actively using unmanned aerial vehicles, and reports from international consulting companies. The ways of using the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) technology that bring positive effects were grouped by application areas. The most noticeable effects from the use of UAVs are achieved in the survey of infrastructure, in the work on maintaining a favourable environmental situation and environmental protection, in the work of law enforcement agencies, in the field of road regulation and improvement of the road transport situation, as well as in the field of entertainment and in the work of the media. The concept of "unmanned aerial vehicles" in Russian regulatory legal acts and standards was analyzed. The analysis demonstrated the lack of a single definition. As part of the study, legal and procedural recommendations were developed that would allow in the future to successfully integrate the UAVs technology into the departmental Smart City project. The authors' assessment of the feasibility of implementing the technology in previously defined areas is also given.