Building Trust in Autonomous Aerial Systems: A Review of Hardware-Rooted Trust Mechanisms

Sagir Muhammad Ahmad, Mohammad Samie and Barmak Honarvar Shakibaei Asli ()
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Sagir Muhammad Ahmad: Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK
Mohammad Samie: Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK
Barmak Honarvar Shakibaei Asli: Faculty of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK

Future Internet, 2025, vol. 17, issue 10, 1-45

Abstract: Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are redefining both civilian and defense operations, with swarm-based architectures unlocking unprecedented scalability and autonomy. However, these advancements introduce critical security challenges, particularly in location verification and authentication. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of hardware security primitives (HSPs)—including Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs), Trusted Platform Modules (TPMs), and blockchain-integrated frameworks—as foundational enablers of trust in UAV ecosystems. We systematically analyze communication architectures, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and deployment constraints, followed by a comparative evaluation of HSP-based techniques in terms of energy efficiency, scalability, and operational resilience. The review further identifies unresolved research gaps and highlights transformative trends such as AI-augmented environmental PUFs, post-quantum secure primitives, and RISC-V-based secure control systems. By bridging current limitations with emerging innovations, this work underscores the pivotal role of hardware-rooted security in shaping the next generation of autonomous aerial networks.

Keywords: unmanned aerial vehicle UAV; communication; harware security primitives (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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