Thematic Research Areas

#Research themeScope
1Drone/UAV Training, Certification Support and SafetyNational and regional training, safety culture, instructor/examiner development pathways and regulatory-aligned operations.
2UAS Applications, Mapping and 3D ModellingHigh-resolution mapping, photogrammetry, 3D models and decision-support products for cities, infrastructure and facilities.
3Earth Observation, GeoAI and Geospatial AnalyticsSatellite-drone integration, machine learning, spatial modelling and advanced analytics for planning and monitoring.
4Infrastructure Inspection and Asset ManagementDrone/AI inspection of buildings, dams, roads, utilities and power infrastructure for condition assessment and maintenance.
5Smart Agriculture and Precision FarmingFarm mapping, crop/soil monitoring, agricultural intelligence, traceability, IoT integration and UAS-supported farming.
6Environment, Mining and BiodiversityHabitat, pollution and mine-environment monitoring, surface deformation, acoustic AI and conservation applications.
7Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate ResilienceFlooding, drainage, heat, drought, cholera risk, rapid assessment, early warning and resilience planning.
8Urban and Regional Planning / Citizen DataInformal-settlement mapping, land-use change, transport, green spaces, community-generated data and metropolitan planning.
9Renewable Energy and Circular EconomySpatial energy-resource assessment, waste-to-energy, feedstock mapping, routing and circular-economy analytics.
10Software, AI and UAS Data SystemsDashboards, data portals, processing workflows, AI models and controlled/open geospatial data services.
11Drone Manufacturing, Testing and Local InnovationLocal design, assembly, avionics/sensors, prototype testing, maintenance and technology transfer.
12Policy, Regulation and Data GovernanceEvidence for UAS policy, SORA/PDRA awareness, privacy, data governance, standards, UTM concepts and responsible deployment.

Emerging Research and Innovation Areas

  • Satellite-drone fusion for high-frequency monitoring and validation
  • Citizen-generated data, open mapping and non-extractive data governance
  • Urban digital twins, 3D city models and infrastructure intelligence
  • Acoustic AI for biodiversity and environmental surveillance
  • Forest-carbon monitoring, MRV and climate-resilience analytics
  • Agricultural intelligence integrating UAV, IoT, farm records and AI
  • Local UAS design, manufacturing, testing and maintenance
  • National spatial-data interoperability and ZNSDI-aligned drone data services

Alignment to National and Global Development Priorities

FrameworkNACUAS contribution
Zambia Vision 2030Supports a knowledge-based, technologically capable and economically diversified middle-income nation through innovation, skills, digital infrastructure and improved services.
8th National Development Plan (8NDP)Contributes to economic transformation and job creation, human and social development, environmental sustainability and stronger evidence-informed governance.
Zambia National Spatial Data Infrastructure (ZNSDI)Supports interoperable geospatial data, metadata, standards, responsible data sharing and integration of drone-derived datasets into national spatial-data systems.
SDGsDirectly supports SDG 2 (food systems), 3 (health), 9 (industry/innovation/infrastructure), 11 (sustainable cities), 13 (climate action), 15 (life on land) and 17 (partnerships), with cross-cutting contributions to data and resilience.