DroneAI for Resilient Nature

This proceedings volume supports the European drone and artificial intelligence industries in advancing solutions for the agrifood and natural resources sector. It addresses some of the most critical global challenges: food security, food safety, environmental conservation and sustainable production, water-resource management, and the restoration of biological diversity. The chapters highlight advances in AI acceleration, top-level integration with foundational technologies, the sustainability of edge AI systems, and the requirements for deploying generative AI. A strong emphasis is placed on scientific methodology, ensuring transparency, reproducibility, and the validity of the research presented. The chapters here showcase practical use cases supported by rigorous validation strategies, including comparisons with ground-truth data. The book provides objective and reliable parameters for monitoring ecosystem resilience, particularly in the aftermath of natural disasters.

Mika‑Petri Laakkonen, PhD, is Lead/Principal Research Scientist at Oulu University of Applied Sciences and affiliated Full Professor at the University of Haifa. His scholarship bridges the fundamental theory of artificial intelligence, Physics-Inspired AI, data-driven decision-making, intelligent information systems, and human–robot collaboration, with a sustained record of coordinating EU-funded and national innovation projects. Since 2010, he has served as an independent expert to the European Commission’s DG CONNECT on future technologies. In academia, Laakkonen has held visiting roles, notably as visiting professor at Sorbonne University, and he actively reviews for leading journals and conferences in information systems and foresight. He was Editor‑in‑Chief of the Springer Nature Proceedings volume DroneAI for Resilient Nature (2024).