Risk Assessment in BVLoS Operations for UAVs: Challenges and Solutions

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have emerged as valuable tools in various applications, yet their integration into airspace introduces significant risks, particularly in Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLoS) operations. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of existing research efforts focused on risk-aware path planning for BVLoS UAV operations. The paper begins by elucidating the potential risks posed by UAVs, emphasizing the criticality of effective risk management strategies. Subsequently, a systematic review of existing papers addressing risk-aware path planning for BVLoS operations is conducted. Each surveyed paper is analyzed with respect to its objectives and methodologies, describing both the addressed challenges and limitations of the proposed approaches. The survey categorizes the reviewed literature into three main areas: ground risk, air risk, and combined ground and air risk assessment. Each category is explored in detail, highlighting the methodologies employed and the effectiveness of the proposed solutions in mitigating risks associated with BVLoS operations. Furthermore, the paper includes a discussion that synthesizes the lessons learned from the surveyed literature and identifies key challenges that remain unaddressed in current research. Open challenges such as the integration of dynamic risk factors, scalability of algorithms, and real-time adaptability are highlighted, providing directions for future research endeavors in this domain.