## 5 Conclusions  
This research demonstrated a gesture-controlled drone system integrating obstacle avoidance, 3D mapping, and drone FPV streaming via the AI-Deck, offering an intuitive and accessible approach to drone navigation. The combination of hand gesture recognition and autonomous safety mechanisms reduces reliance on traditional controllers, making drone operation more approachable, particularly for beginners. While limitations such as gesture recognition sensitivity, video streaming quality, and processing delays were observed, the system successfully provided a safer and more interactive user experience. Future improvements could further refine usability, responsiveness, and reliability, including two camera views for better gesture recognition, a new camera module for higher-quality streaming, and further code optimization. Also, expanding the obstacle avoidance system to detect and respond to moving objects would enhance the drone's adaptability, opening pathways for use in unpredictable spaces.  
Looking ahead, the system could be scaled to support multi-drone coordination, enabling collaborative missions in larger or more complex spaces. Moreover, generalizing the platform for outdoor use with improved localization, such as integrating GPS or SLAM, could extend its utility to critical applications like search and rescue, environmental monitoring, or infrastructure inspection. Altogether, this multifunctional system represents a meaningful step toward safer, more intuitive human-drone interaction and paves the way for broader adoption of drone technology in education, training, and mission applications.  
The following supporting materials are available: Video S1: Obstacle avoidance demonstration [[https://youtu.be/K5](https://youtu.be/K5) psfzL2 qEo?si=YkmpECxuSVcb_bBJ]([https://youtu.be/K5](https://youtu.be/K5) psfzL2 qEo?si=YkmpECxuSVcb_bBJ) (accessed on 22 June 2025); Video S2: Integrated system demonstration [[https://youtu.be/L6](https://youtu.be/L6) OvuF5S8Q?si=J]([https://youtu.be/L6](https://youtu.be/L6) OvuF5S8Q?si=J)[P9 HjhYPmkpfdgq (accessed on 22 June 2025).  
Conceptualization, B.T., M.A., P.H. and P.Z.; methodology, B.T., M.A., P.H. and X.G.; software, B.T., M.A., P.H. and X.G.; validation, B.T., M.A. and P.H.; formal analysis, B.T. and P.Z.; investigation, B.T. and M.A.; resources, P.Z.; data curation, B.T., M.A. and P.H.; writing--original draft preparation, B.T.; writing--review and editing, B.T., X.G., P.Z. and H.M.; visualization, B.T., M.A. and P.H.; supervision, P.Z.; project administration, P.Z. and H.M.; funding acquisition, H.M. and P.Z. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)-Grant #000825, the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, NASA Agreement #80 NSCC20M0055, and NASA Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, Grant #80 NSSC22M0027.  
Not applicable.  
Informed Consent StatementNot applicable.  
Data AvailabilityStatementThe original data presented in this study are included in the article and openly available in Gesture-based-Drone-Navigation at [[https://github.com/PING-ResearchLab/](https://github.com/PING-ResearchLab/)]([https://github.com/PING-ResearchLab/](https://github.com/PING-ResearchLab/)) Gesture-based-Drone-Navigation.git (accessed on 22 June 2025).  
The authors thank PiNG Lab and Marshall University for their support.