A bibliometric-driven roadmap of agricultural drone research and future technological convergence

Abstract This study presents a comprehensive 25-year (1999–2024) bibliometric and thematic review of agricultural drone research, encompassing over 20,000 agriculture-specific publications from Scopus, Elsevier, Springer, and IEEE Xplore. Research output has grown at a striking 33.1% CAGR, led by China (720 papers) and the USA (15,384 citations). VOSviewer mapping identifies five dominant clusters: precision agriculture, remote sensing, AI integration, spraying systems, and swarm/IoT technologies. We benchmark drones against satellite and ground IoT systems, quantify their unique advantages and limitations, and project approximately 15,500 agriculture-specific papers by 2030. By integrating technical fundamentals, rigorous bibliometric insights, cross-technology comparisons, and farmer-focused interface recommendations, this work provides an actionable roadmap for accelerating the adoption of affordable and accessible drones worldwide.