Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the Cyber Domain - Second Edition

Reviewed by Carlos Rubio-Medrano, Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi on 10/21/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book is easy to read, and covers the latest developments on UAVs, a.k.a. drones, from the last 10 years. It has been written by a variety of experts, who have contributed with knowledge, definitions, examples, as well as diagrams and photographs of existing, unclassified projects involving drones. Not only the book is informative and easy to follow, but the amount of visual materials makes it appealing to readers interested in this emerging technology.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The contents of the book are accurate, illustrative, and have been obtained from a variety of sources as well as the experiences of each co-author. Generally, the contents are also un-biased, presenting different points of view with a minor focalization in national security and military agencies.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The book is quite relevant to the field of study, and contains valuable information from academics and people from industry. Concepts are carefully explained and accompanied with photos from actual drone-related projects. Whereas the core of the book is not likely to change over time, some projects and side concepts may quickly change. As a matter of fact, a second edition of the book was quickly produced due to the rapid changes in the field. A similar behavior may be expected in the future.

Clarity rating: 4

The book is well-organized. Topics are discussed in an easy-to-grasp, chronological order. Descriptions are self-contained, and properly backed up by relevant references.

Consistency rating: 5

A long list of acronyms, as used in the field, is listed, presented, and used throughout the text. Readers are invited to look up such table when an acronym is difficult to grasp or it is presented by the first time.

Modularity rating: 4

The book is well-modularized, however, some chapters lack proper numbering of sections and subsections, which may complicate distributing their content as reading assignments to students.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The book is well-organized, the contents are presented in a logical fashion, suitable for college students as well as specialists in industry.

Interface rating: 4

Some figures/photos are presented out of context, and are not related to the text contained within the same page. Perhaps a re-organization and/or adding extended captions to the figures would alleviate this problem. Tables are also poorly-formatted, which complicates their understanding.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors, a.k.a., typos, were detected in the text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

Given the fact that drones are one of the most attractive, emerging technologies nowadays, the cultural relevance of this text is high. No offensive materials or contents were found, and a variety of projects depicting drones, with many different domain applications, are presented. However, no clear, explicit examples targeted for diversity and/or inclusion were identified within the text.

Comments

The book is authored not only by academic specialists but also by industry and government leaders. The amount of information is quite relevant and there seems to be an effort to keep the book up to date. Readers should be pending for newer editions of the book as the field of UAVs (drones) keeps changing every few years.

Reviewed by Sarah Macey, Faculty, Virginia Tech on 4/11/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The authors provide a comprehensive background of UAS and cyber challenges concerning UAS. The background information is very UAS focused though, without informing the reader about related historical cyber challenges.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

As may be expected with this rapidly evolving subject matter, some information is out-of-date. The more concerning factor in the accuracy of this text is the sources that were used and how they were represented. In one case an article involving a UAS-crewed aircraft collision was referenced and paraphrased, but the authors failed to mention the incident was not proven to involve UAS. Otherwise, this text does use accurate sources in key areas.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The information presented in this text is highly relevant. Though some information, particularly relating to regulation, has changed since publication, the core of the content will continue to be relevant and should be easily updated.

Clarity rating: 5

The authors have taken a complex subject matter and presented it in a manner that is easily understood. Subjects involving uncrewed aircraft systems tend to unavoidably become laden with jargon and technical terms. The Appendix including lists of acronyms, overviews, and figures within the chapters helps to make the subject more easily understood.

Consistency rating: 5

The layout and language of the text remained consistent throughout.

Modularity rating: 4

The text was well-divided into smaller sections. It cannot be easily realigned due to how the information builds upon itself, but is not overly self-referential.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The early chapters have a logical flow that is easy to follow. The later chapters seem be written with less clarity of broader learning goals.

Interface rating: 5

The interface of this text is no flashy, but it is easy to navigate and provides a thorough yet appropriate amount of visualizations.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors were noticed.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

Updates are needed to reflect modern changes in terminology such as the adjustment from unmanned to uncrewed.

Reviewed by Shane Jackson, Lecturer, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 4/29/21, updated 5/26/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book provides a comprehensive overview of the capabilities and effectiveness of unmanned aircraft systems on the battlefield in urban areas and ways governments can utilize this developing next-gen technology. At the heart of UAS is the ability for delivering airborne capabilities in intelligence and surveillance while delivering maximum efficiency in the most complex operating environments on our planet.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The book synthesizes many different resources and aligns them with UAS and ADS (Airborne Delivery Systems) which enables them to operate in sophisticated and challenging environments with self-learning autonomous AI systems. There are many chapters that address everything from legal considerations, cyber threats, foreign governments, and so much more.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

From Amazon to UPS autonomous drones will become part of our everyday lives within the next decade. Africa is the largest proving ground for this technology and the results show that the efficiency and functionality will be used in a myriad of ways in our everyday life.

Clarity rating: 4

This book addressed many of the aspects of surveillance, intelligence, and recognizance in not just UAS but in the ways that governments are using these elements today. While most of the chapters were detailed and comprehensive, sometimes they did not flow together seamlessly, they were still valuable sources of information.

Consistency rating: 5

The text was consistent throughout in terms of the terminology and framework used to describe UAS, ADS, and principles of the technology being used.

Modularity rating: 5

One of the best attributes of this book is that the chapters are easily adapted to a course and each chapter can expand and integrate with different components.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization of the book was comprehensive, easy to navigate, and aligned with current and future geopolitical issues throughout the world.

Interface rating: 5

The interface was straightforward, easy to read, and provided a logical transition through topics.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The book was free from grammatical errors, flowed well, and provided excellent theoretical and practical frameworks.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This text is free from offensive or insensitive remarks or characterizations.

Comments

I will integrate this book into future courses.

Reviewed by David Yasenchock, Adjunct Professor, University of Southern Maine on 2/17/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Detailed analysis of the usage of UAV's in the cyber domain.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

second edition updated the use of newer technologies.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Anyone working with UAV's should read this book.

Clarity rating: 4

Easy enough to read without expertise with UAV technology.

Consistency rating: 4

Updated to maintain changes in technology.

Modularity rating: 4

chapters can be read as "read alone" assignments.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

chapters can be read as "read alone" assignments.

Interface rating: 4

Images reinforce key points of the text.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammar errors

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

Cultural unbiased.

Comments

Excellent rad for those interested with UAV technology.